Out of the blue
by Alena S. Anigor
Summary: Can someone show Bakura a different side of life, and make him realize things he never believed existed? /Tea x Yami Bakura/ fic. Reviews are welcome.
1. The beginning

**AN:**

**Hi everyone!**

**Uhm, this is my first Yu-Gi-Oh! fic, and English is not my native language, so...bear with me. ^_^;**

**This is a Tea/Yami Bakura fic, so if you don't like the pairing, please don't flame me. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of its plot and characters. If I did, I'd be rich, but sadly, I'm not...**

**On with the story...**

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**Out of the blue**

**-**by Alena S. Anigor

The night was chilly, signalizing the arrival of the cold and cloudy autumn. The streets were wet and slippery due to the autumn rain that was falling almost the whole afternoon. The air was thick, carrying that certain smell of wet grass, and fallen leafs. A sudden and cold breeze blew by; causing leafs to fly around, and making one certain tomb robber shiver slightly in the middle of an empty street.

He cursed the moody weather, raising the collar of his jacket a bit higher to protect him from the wind and coldness. It didn't matter how long he had already been living here in Domino City, he just couldn't get used to the blasted weather. It was different in Egypt – surely, it was cold by night, temperatures falling drastically, making the heated sand cool down, but at least it wasn't so...moist, and wet. And there were no leafs he was stumbling upon.

He cursed again, sticking his hands in his pockets to keep them warm. He sniffed the cool air, and wrinkled his nose in disgust – that smell of grass was definitely not appealing.

When Ryou asked him where he was going so late in the evening, he snapped at him, telling him it was none of his business. That made his other half back away a bit, and he only managed to mutter 'sorry' before disappearing back into the living room. He grabbed that funny looking thing...what was it called? Oh yeah, umbrella, just in case if rain would start falling again, and headed outside, slamming the doors behind him.

And now, he was walking down the empty park, holding umbrella in his hand, which turned out to be useless, since there was no rain, and the sky was clear, tiny stars shining trough barely visible clouds. The moon was almost full, casting silvery beams across the sky, and making his hair shine like silver. Personally, it irritated him, because it reminded him of everything light and shiny, and he hated everything that was light and shiny. He was used to stay in the dark, in the shadows, watching with predatory eyes at his prey, dark and shadows being his steady companion...Now, he even considered opening that blasted thing, just to block those shiny rays of light. The umbrella's material was black, and it could get useful. But then he stopped with those thoughts, thinking how he'd probably look stupid with open umbrella over his head on such a clear night.

He mumbled something incoherent, wishing he was somewhere else, instead of living in this moronic town, with a softy named Ryou Bakura, and on top of it all – a town where the spirit of that damn Pharaoh was also living.

And as much as he tried, because, momentarily, he had nowhere to go, he just couldn't get used to it all. Although he hated to admit it, but he felt confused, and...lost sometimes, walking down the streets made of concrete, instead of walking across the soft sand. That same thought made him realize something:

Bakura, the dangerous and notorious tomb robber, was homesick.

He stopped, staring at his feet, hidden in shoes they called sneakers, not comprehending himself how he had gotten to that conclusion. He shook his head quickly, reminding himself that he got out of the house to be alone for a little bit, to take a walk trough the park to get some fresh air...which, once again, didn't smell so fresh to him at all.

He spotted a little wooden bench on his left, and decided to sit there for a while. The bench was cold and still a bit wet, but he didn't care. He placed the umbrella aside, and leaned back, stretching his arms on each side, and letting them rest on the bench. Soon, he felt stupid like that, so he put them in their usual position – he crossed them across his chest. He lowered his head, thoughts from earlier ramblings coming to haunt him again. 

What was he doing here, anyway? If there hasn't been for that damn Pharaoh and his Millennium Puzzle, he'd be out of this hellhole a long time ago. 

Wondering about things he could do, possessing all Millennium items, he failed to notice a girl, approaching him from a short distance, carrying her school bag in one hand, and humming quietly to herself. Her cerulean eyes widened slightly, when she noticed a person sitting on the bench. And not just any person, it was Bakura!

She swallowed a heavy lump in her throat. It seemed as if he hadn't noticed her yet, and she was considering whether to keep walking or to turn back and find another way home. After all, Bakura was someone you didn't even want to cross your paths with, and that was just the case right now.

Something deep inside of him, told him that he was being watched. That same impulse saved his life thousands of years ago. He turned his head quickly to find a source for his distraction, and noticed a familiar looking girl, staring intently at him. Actually, she looked even scared of him. That was good, he smirked.

Tea flinched slightly when he suddenly turned his head and looked her straight in the eyes. A strange smirk spread across his features a second after, and she thought that she definitely should have turned back and flee for her life. But, it was too late now, he had already spotted her, and even if she started running away, there's not doubt he would catch her. So, the only thing she could come up with now, was to play dumb, and she smiled politely, as much as her fear allowed.

"H-hey, Bakura...nice to see you..." she stuttered, and flinched again, when he frowned suddenly. 'Uh oh...I'm in trouble...' was the only thing that crossed her mind at the look on his face.

Bakura frowned as soon as he heard the girl's voice. He had heard it before, and he recognized it immediately. It was that girl, that same girl who was a close friend of Pharaoh's. He suppressed the sudden urge to growl, seeing that his frown had an effect on her. She flinched, she was scared of him.

He got up slowly, taking the umbrella with him, still glaring at her, and he noticed her taking a shaky step back, holding her school bag tightly.

"What do you want, mortal?" he asked her in his usual manner, cold and raspy voice breaking the dead silence between them.

Tea opened her mouth to speak, unsure of what to say.

"What do I want? Uh...nothing, I was just, I was just passing by, that's all." She managed to utter, hoping she didn't offend him by any chance. 

He snorted, and sat back on the bench, his arms crossed like before.

"Then stop wasting my breath and leave already!" He growled his reply, and she flinched again, blinking a couple of times, before she collected her courage again, and started walking, slowly and cautiously, as far aside from the bench as possible. 

His eyes were closed now, expecting her to move on already, and leave him alone in peace. He heard her slow footsteps, wanting nothing more to just stand up, and leave himself. The peace he had in this park was ruined, and by a pathetic mortal girl like her.

Tea was eyeing him warily; taking each step with caution, suspicious of his intentions to just let her pass by him, not taking a chance to use her for a manipulation to get back to Yuugi and his Yami. Just when she was about to pass him by, one of the straps on her school bag let loose, and a mouthful of books and pencils dropped out. She yelped, trying to prevent everything from falling out, but didn't succeed, as everything fell out, and was now lying on the street in a perfect mess.

"Great, just great!" she snapped, forgetting for a moment that _he_ was still sitting there.

Bakura opened his eyes, and growled again in irritation. That stupid, clumsy mortal let her bag fall, and now her books were lying everywhere. She managed to pick up almost all of them in a hurry, stuffing them back inside, but unfortunately, one of her pencils rolled away from her reach and stopped by a foot of the famous tomb robber. He lowered his head to look at it, brows rising. 

Tea froze, cursing her bad luck mentally. She wanted to pick it up, but she didn't want to risk her life just for a little pencil, but that was one of her favorite ones, and she didn't want to just leave it lying there. She looked at Bakura, who stared at it, and she wondered if he would be so kind to pick it up and give it back to her. That thought, however, sounded impossible, even to her.

'Yeah, right,' she thought, 'Bakura being kind and picking my pencil...he'd rather die than pick up a pencil for _anyone_.'

Nobody made a move for a whole minute; Bakura still looking at the little blue pencil beneath him, and Tea still wondering if she should just grab it and run, or ask him _very_ politely to give it back to her.

After some thinking, she decided to do the other thing. She got up slowly, and smiling politely with all the courtesy she had, she opened her mouth to ask a question.

"Uh, Bakura? Could you, uhm..." she pointed to a pencil still lying on the concrete, "could you give me that pencil?" she finished, a hopeful look in her eyes. Bakura raised his head and looked at her with sheer disgust.

"You want me to pick your pencil?" he asked her and then snorted, "Why don't you pick it yourself?" he added, looking at the confused and slightly terrified expression on the girl's face. Her eyes were slightly widened, and he chuckled mentally. This should be very amusing; maybe he should play with this mortal for a little while. It was getting bored, anyway.

Tea sighed inwardly after hearing his reply. 'What did you expect, anyway?' she said to herself, and sighed loudly this time, letting her frustration out. Why couldn't he just pick up the darn pencil and give it to her? He would get rid of her sooner that way. 'That's it!' she smiled triumphantly.

"Look Bakura," she said, a sudden boldness in her voice, "just give me the pencil, and I'll leave. That way you'll get rid of me sooner, and I'll leave you alone." She ended, satisfied with her reply. The tomb robber smirked again, which confused her a bit. 

"What?" she asked him, eyeing him suspiciously again.

The white-haired tomb robber chuckled slightly, smirking again. "What if I don't want you to leave?"

The look on the girl's face was priceless. She was gaping at him in some kind of wonder, confusion written all over her face, shock evident in her bright, cerulean eyes.

"W-wha-why?" she managed to get a grip on herself, daring to ask him something again.

His smirk never left his face, and he leaned in further, his back resting completely against the bench.

"Because I said so." Was his simple reply.

Tea couldn't believe what was happening in front of her; first, he scares the living daylight out of her, then he looks like he's going to kill her, and now he's flirting with her? Well, not exactly flirting normally, but in some twisted Bakura way.

She looked at her watch, and seeing what time it was, she almost yelped again. He was still looking at her, that amused expression still on his face, waiting for her next retort. The girl was certainly intriguing, now showing signs of anger and frustration, when she was scared and terrified of him just a minute ago.

Tea has had enough. She stomped her foot forward, having enough of playing his little, twisted game.

"Listen, you!", her voice rose slightly, her cheeks flushed in anger, and her eyes blazing, "I don't have time for this! I have a very important test to write tomorrow, and I don't have time to play games with you! Now, give me back my pencil!" 

The tomb robber was now staring at her, slightly astonished that she dared to speak with him in that tone. He had to admit she was definitely an interesting mortal, although she was a friend of that damn Pharaoh.

But he kept his smirking expression, looking at her from below, white bangs slightly covering his dark eyes.

"And I told you already," he started, eyes glistening with mockery, "why don't you pick it yourself?"

It took her a while, until she realized that her previous _threat _had no effect on him, and that this conversation was going nowhere.

She clenched her fists, shaking with anger, her eyes piercing trough his, looking like a stormy ocean, threatening to swallow him and drown him deep inside. 

"UGH!" she screamed in frustration finally, and grabbing her bag violently, she glared at him one last time, before storming down the street, looking like a steam engine in full speed.

He heard her remarks about him, until she disappeared behind the corner, and her mumbling voice died, leaving him alone in the park again. He was sitting on the bench for a while, before deciding to get up, and go home. Taking his umbrella, and dusting himself off a bit, his expression changed again into a thoughtful one.

_Home..._

But, the conversation with that girl, definitely managed to make his night interesting. The girl was amusing, and her eyes somehow left a deep imprint on him. Why? He didn't know. He stopped abruptly, remembering the crucial reason for their fight in the first place.

The little blue pencil was still lying on the concrete, looking lost and abandoned, just like he was feeling at the moment. Never the less, he picked it up, observing it for a while, until he placed it in his pocket, together with his hands, and continued down the street.

He was hungry, and that weakling of a mortal should better have something for dinner, or else he'll get angry...

**AN:**

**Well, that was it for this chapter. I hope you liked it, and I hope my grammar didn't suck much.**

**Anyway, it's your turn now-tell me what you think-should I continue the story or not?**

**Right, that's all coming from me for this time. ^_^**

**Bye!**

**A.S.A**


	2. One stressful day

**AN:**

**Hey people!**

**Wow, thanks for the reviews, I really didn't expect them to be so good. Anyway, I'm glad you liked it.**

**Right, I'm done with my little speech.**

**Usual disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh...and that's that.**

**On with the chapter II...**

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**Out of the blue **

**Chapter II - One stressful day**

-by Alena S. Anigor

Tea woke up, groggily trying to clear her vision and stay awake. Her alarm clock was still beeping, creating an annoying sound, and making her headache worse. She slammed her hand at the alarm clock, and it fell down, beeping sound gone. Silence overtook from then, and Tea brushed a few strands of her hair away from her face, moaning when she remembered that she had to write a test today. She squirmed her eyes, trying to get them used to a morning sunlight and trying to get out of bed. The thought of staying in the warm bed was somehow more appealing, but she gave herself a task to get up, brush her teeth and get ready for school.

Taking a glance at herself in the mirror, she almost groaned, seeing dark circles under her eyes. She reached for her toothbrush, lazily searching for a toothpaste. She realized that she still wasn't quite awake, so she decided to wash her face with water first...lots of cold water, to be precise.

Minutes later, she was packing her school bag, hoping that she didn't forget important facts about historical monuments and important kings and queens. She yawned, trying to keep collected, although she wished nothing more than go to bed and sleep the whole day off.

The kitchen was empty again; her parents were on a business trip, and she was once again left alone in the house. It didn't matter that much anymore, she was used to that. After all, she was a big girl, and big girls knew how to take care of themselves.

She decided to swallow her breakfast in a hurry, time spent in the bathroom taking a lot of time for other things, and she quickly grabbed her school bag, placing it on her back, and taking one last sip of milk, she hurried to the doors, stepping out, and locking them behind. She was running down the street now, silently hoping to catch Yuugi and the guys on the way. She was almost sure Yuugi knew everything; she wasn't quite convinced about Joey spending his afternoon flipping the History book, though. That thought made her smile a bit, as she could practically imagine him, moping and sulking after flunking his test.

She was passing by the park, and she stopped suddenly, observing a familiar bench on the left. The bench _he_ was sitting on yesterday.

"Argh..." she groaned, remembering his mocking expression, and not giving her the pencil back. One thought crossed her mind for a second, and she turned her head forward, forgetting all about school.

"Oh no!" She yelped, as she started running again, wondering for a brief moment where Bakura was right now.

"Hey, Tea!" Yuugi waved happily, standing near the school gates, and she spotted Joey and Tristan, fighting over something she didn't bother to hear.

"Yuugi!" She waved back, slowing down a bit to catch some air for her lungs. She was running the whole way, and she desperately needed a rest. She approached her friend, holding her chest and gasping for air. Yuugi was watching her, slightly worried.

"Tea, are you okay?" he asked her, his expression equal to his voice. She only smiled, and waved her hand at him.

"Yeah, I kinda overslept a bit, so I had to run to school." She replied sheepishly, and Yuugi smiled.

"Did you learn for the test?" he asked her, as they continued walking down the school halls. She nodded, although she wasn't sure herself if that little time she spent gawking at her book and then thinking about Bakura would be enough to pass the test. Yuugi noticed her somewhat exhausted eyes, and wondered what made her having trouble sleeping.

Joey and Tristan went ahead, still brawling about something that obviously included Duel Monsters.

Digging trough her bag, she was trying to find a little blue pencil, before remembering that she was probably either still lying in the park, or was taken by some kid or someone else. She sighed, thinking about her conversation with Bakura.

'Okay, Tea, cut it out with that, you've got a test to pass here...' she was thinking, trying to redirect her thoughts and concentration to the teacher in front of her, who was currently walking around the classroom, giving each of them a piece of paper. 

Tea managed to fish out another pencil out of her bag, and looking at the paper in front of her, frowned.

'Name the place of Napoleon's death?' she read the question silently in her head, trying to remember the name of the island where he was banished after his kingdom fell apart. She massaged her forehead, and then growled silently in frustration.

'Great, this is just wonderful...' she thought again, staring at the questions below, realizing that she couldn't remember _anything_ right.

'Was it Corsica? Or was it Elba? Or maybe something else?' she was rubbing her temples, trying desperately to find the right answer. Then she sighed, lowering her head slightly, desperation visible in her cerulean eyes, covered with her bangs. She didn't notice Yuugi, casting worried glances in her direction.

'I am soo going to flunk...' 

Joey stretched lazily after exiting the classroom. He was grinning triumphantly, putting his hands behind his neck. 

"That was easy, I mean, who wouldn't know who discovered planet Uranus?" he exclaimed, and Tristan eyed him suspiciously.

"Oh, really? Who did?"

Joey raised his left hand and stretched it in the air. "Well, it was that guy, Galeo, or something like that..." He opened one eye and yawned. Tristan sighed, and shook his head. Yuugi, walking behind them, opened his mouth to speak.

"His name is Galileo, Joey, but he wasn't the one who discovered Uranus." Yuugi said, smiling softly at the confused expression of his taller friend.

"He didn't?" Joey asked, an almost scared expression crossing his face. Yuugi shook his head.

"No, Herschel discovered Uranus." He added, and Joey's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"I'm going to flunk...and I was so sure that I at least got that right..."

"You're not the only one who's going to flunk, Joey." They hear another voice behind them, and they turned around to look at Tea, who was looking crestfallen. Yuugi frowned in concern.

"What happened Tea? You don't look so good." He observed, and she managed to smile a bit.

"Are you sick?" Tristan asked, eyeing her pale face and drained eyes. She shook her head, and smiled again.

"No, I just couldn't sleep, that's all. Nothing serious, you guys," she replied, her smile widening a bit to insure her friends that she would be all right, "Come on, let's go." She added and they continued walking down the hall, Joey moping about 'damn History tests'.

Tea smiled cheerfully, being her old self again, but Yuugi was still wearing a concerned expression. Something was telling him that something was definitely wrong with her. He should ask Yami for an advice when he gets home...

Once home, Tea dropped her school bag on the floor, and then dropped herself on the couch, covering her eyes with the back of her head.

She didn't know how did that happen, she was always good in history, heck, she was good in almost every subject, and now she didn't even know basic things...what was happening to her? She closed her eyes, trying to relax, but images of the dream she was having last night came to her mind. She didn't quite remember all of it, but she knew that it had to do something with Bakura, and that she woke up in sweat, gripping the ends of her blanket in fear.

She sighed soundly; wondering why was she dreaming about Bakura? It was a nightmare, actually, since she was afraid to go back to sleep after waking up. Then she shook her head and removed her hand from her eyes.

No, she wasn't going to let that tomb robber mess with her. She sighed and decided to get up. She was hungry, due to the lack of breakfast in the morning. She only hoped that she managed to answer at least _some_ questions right.

She was just in the middle of making herself a sandwich, when the telephone rang. She picked up the phone, swallowing a bite, first.

"Yes?" she asked, hoping that her parents called.

"Hey, Tea," a voice on the other side was unmistakably belonging to Yuugi Mutou.

"Hi, Yuugi, what's up?" she asked him, curious about what happened that he wanted to talk to her. He even sounded somewhat concerned.

Yuugi, hearing her cheerful voice again, wondered briefly, if he wasn't perhaps wrong about her. "Uhm, well, I wanted to know if you were okay? You did seem a bit...sick in the morning." He said, and she could hear another, deeper voice, saying something behind his. She assumed that was Yami. She smiled, taking another bite into her sandwich.

"No, I'm fine, thanks, I just didn't get enough sleep, that's all." She replied, chewing steadily. Yuugi was silent for a couple of seconds.

"May I know why?"

That question caught her off guard, and she stopped chewing, swallowing hard. 'What is that all about' she wondered, before deciding to reply.

"Uh, well, it was nothing really, I had a nightmare, I don't even remember what it was all about, anyway...why?" she asked him, after sighing inwardly. Yuugi sure was oddly perceptive sometimes.

He sounded a bit relieved after that. "Oh, no reason, really...but you know you can tell me everything, we're friends, Tea." He sounded so sincere, that she started feeling guilty for not telling him the whole truth, but she knew that if she told him about having nightmares involving Ryou Bakura's darker half, he might misinterpret that as a sign that Bakura was again plotting some evil plans. Which, could be true, when she thought about it..."

"Yeah, I know, thanks for worrying about me, but I'm fine, really." She said, and he could sense her smiling across the phone.

"Okay, then...see you, bye Tea!" he said, and heard her telling him the same. There was a 'click' sound after that, and he put the phone back to its place.

"And?" The deeper voice that belonged to the ancient Pharaoh was heard behind him. Yuugi lowered his head slightly, still not feeling quite satisfied. That nagging feeling about something being wrong was still there. He turned to face his Yami, who was sitting on his bed, looking at him expectantly.

"Well, she says she's fine, but..." there he stopped, and Yami turned his head slightly aside, assuming that there was something else.

"But?"

Yuugi sighed, sitting on the bed, watching his Millennium Puzzle with a thoughtful look.

"I don't know, I just...I just have a feeling that she wasn't quite honest with me." He finally exclaimed, and sighed again. Yami was looking at him, realizing that this girl meant a lot to him. Then again, he knew her, too, and he could tell why: she was nice, sweet and polite, but could also be quite fiery, especially when it came to protecting her friends. He was in his own thoughts for a while, and didn't see Yuugi looking at him worriedly.

"Yami?" he heard his name being called, and he snapped out of his thoughts, looking at the smaller version of himself in surprise.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention." He said, smiling a bit, and Yuugi smiled back, but his smile was soon gone.

"I asked you do you think that there is really something bothering her?" he repeated his question, and Yami was silent for a while.

"I honestly don't know, Yuugi. Maybe you're just being too concerned about her." He said, and the little boy lowered his head again.

"Maybe." He said quietly, but deep inside, knew that he should trust his instincts. And now these instincts were telling him that there was definitely something wrong with Tea Gardner...

Tea closed the window in her room, the wind started to blow again, and it became really cold. The night was chilly, and she shivered a bit, pulling another blanket from her closet. She spread it over her bed, and setting her pillow a bit higher, she crawled into the bed, and covered herself, wishing for a good night sleep. The thoughts about a certain tomb robber came back again, and she closed her eyes, trying to block them. A few moments passed, and a loud sigh escaped her lips, as she turned in her bed, covering her head with a blanket. It wasn't long until she turned to the other side again, and opened her eyes, frustration and irritation visible in them.

She growled, lowering the blanket, and turning her head to the window to look at the tree branches swaying on the wind. They were producing creepy shadows on the wall of her room, and Tea swallowed, ensuring herself that they _were_ only shadows...

Then the word 'Shadow realm' came to her mind, and she almost yelled out loud for thinking about such things.

'Damn that Bakura', she thought, 'why can't I stop thinking about it?'

The sudden blow of the wind came in a howling sound, and Tea forced her eyes to shut, and breathe a couple of times to calm down. She also forced different thoughts and images into her mind, images of Yuugi, Tristan, Joey, even Mai and, and Ryou, he wasn't so bad at all...but where was Ryou, there was also Bakura, and she sighed again, thinking of going down and making herself a hot chocolate.

"Good idea," she said, and crawling out of her bed, she headed downstairs to the kitchen, and opened the cupboards in search of a little tin, with a chocolate dust in it. She honestly hoped that it would calm her nerves a bit; otherwise, she'll have another sleepless night...

Yami Bakura was sitting on a window seal of his room, staring at the wind and at the cloudy sky. No doubt, there would be rain again. He growled, mumbling something about the weather, when he heard a soft knock on the door. He turned his head, and growled again.

"What do you want?" he asked angrily, irritated with his hikari's behavior. 

"Uhm, I was just wondering if you were hungry." A muffled voice replied behind the doors, and Bakura snorted.

"No, now go away!" he ordered hastily, and a loud sigh came from the other side. Ryou just shook his head, wondering if he'll ever earn a nice word from him. He sighed and headed to his room, tired and exhausted after washing the dishes.

Hearing the doors being closed, Bakura sighed heavily, still staring trough the window. He lifted his head and redirected his dark eyes to the little blue pencil in his hand. He played with it a bit, flipping it back and forth between his fingers, before snorting out loud and throwing the pencil away. It landed on a desk nearby, rolled a bit, and then finally stopped. 

The night was dark, no moon in sight due to the clouds. Wind was blowing, vigorously swaying trees on his way, and picking up leafs, throwing them in the air and playing with them until they fell back to the ground.

Bakura was looking at it all, waiting for the blasted rain to finally start falling. He was feeling a bit tired; not that he would ever admit that to anyone, but he was, and all that because that filthy mortal was filling his dreams the night before. He gritted his teeth, disgusted with himself. He didn't even remember what exactly was he dreaming, but he knew for sure it involved _her._

He clenched his fists angrily, a low growl emitting from his throat again. What did that witch do to him? He hit his fist against the window seal; once again feeling confused and lost. 

He wasn't...no, that couldn't be...never! That was _not_ the reason! He snorted again, feeling awfully ridiculous for even thinking about such things. He knew what exactly and how exactly he was. He was a tomb robber, an outcast of the society, and that was it, that was his fate. That was the way he managed to survive back then...No regrets, no second thoughts, no feelings...especially no feelings. They would be his doom, and he promised to himself that he wouldn't die, that he won't fall until he'd achieve his goal, and defeat the damn Pharaoh...

And where was he now? Five thousand years passed by him, and now he was here, lost, alone, confused, and although he didn't want to admit it to himself at first, he was feeling lonely...

He snorted again. 'Enough,' he thought, 'my own thoughts sicken me'.

With that, he slipped off the window seal, and sat on his bed. He was becoming slightly tired himself, and he wanted nothing more than to fall asleep. He covered himself with the blanket Ryou gave him to sleep in, and closed his eyes. His only wish was to dream of a humiliated Pharaoh, since he couldn't do that in reality, lying under his feet, the world free to be dominated by him...

Unluckily for him, that wasn't about to happen...

**AN:**

**Uhm...anyway, thanks for the reviews one more time, and I hope you liked this chapter. I'll try to update as soon as possible, but I have exams of my own, and hopefully I won't screw up like Joey...^_^;**

**So, yeah, it's your turn now, tell me what you think.**

**Bye now!**

**A.S.A**


	3. Those twisted feelings

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, therefore, you have no right to sue me since I stated it so clearly now...^_^

**Out of the blue**

**Chapter III- Those twisted feelings**

-by Alena S. Anigor

It was very dark, and a strange, howling sound could be heard from not so far away. That sound made Tea Gardner shiver in fright, and she started to run. Watching the horrible scenery around her, she realized that she was running across some old and creepy looking cemetery. She stopped, blinking a few times, wondering how did she end up walking across cemetery in the first place.

_"What is this? What is going on?"_ she asked out loud, turning her head to the left, and observing a couple of old and cracked tombstones. She embraced herself tightly, starting to feel lost and terrified. 

The howling sound was heard again, and this time it seemed as if it was coming from a very short distance. Tea turned around swiftly, searching for any signs of a possible threat, but it was dark, too dark to see anything clearly. 

_Who's there?"_ She asked, her voice barely above whisper, wavering slightly. She was really becoming scared now, and she wanted to get away from it. A cold wind blew suddenly, blowing her hair in all directions, and she closed her eyes, specks of dust falling all around her. The wind stopped blowing, suddenly just as it came, and Tea dared to open her eyes, looking around her, first.

Then, she heard a wicked laughter in front of her, and she quickly averted her gaze forward. The sight caught her breath, her blood running cold. One of the Duel Monsters she hadn't quite seen before was standing in front of her, shadowed in a cloak, holding a strange weapon in its hands. It reminded her of the typical image of Death itself, and she let out a gasp, realizing that it _was_ Death, in the form of a Duel Monster.

A loud shriek escaped her lips, and she turned around to start running, but she couldn't move her feet. She felt a chilling sensation around her neck, and she wanted to scream, but she couldn't even do that; the Death holding her throat in a steady, murderous grip.

_"Help! Please!" _she was screaming in her mind, trying to wiggle out of its grasp, but every limb in her body was numb, and she could only hope for someone to come and save her.

_"Yuugi, Joey, Yami! Somebody, please, help me!"_ A desperate call for help coursed trough her mind one more time, and she could see the Death, raising the sharp blade, preparing itself to swing it and end her life.

She braced herself for an impact, for pain and death, but nothing came. Being able to breathe again, she opened her eyes and almost gasped at the sight: the Death was on the ground, lying numbly, and the person who was standing above it, smirking at it, an almost wicked and satisfied grin on his face, was no one else than Yami Bakura. 

Tea wasn't quite sure if he was laughing, the blood still ringing in her ear, her pulse beating wildly. Then, he averted his gaze from the crumbled figure on the ground and looked at her, his smirk disappearing, and his laughter dying. The expression on his face was neutral, but then it suddenly changed drastically. 

Tea's eyes widened when she looked a bit closer; his face, his whole body and expression were cut in half. He looked exactly like the card Ryou stated was his favorite one – The change of heart. 

Tea couldn't think, or act, or even speak; she was simply staring at him, or at the two of them. 

As if on cue, the person in front of her moved, and she backed away a bit, when the person stretched his hand to her. She was staring in disbelief at him, then at his hand, before deciding to take his offer to help her to stand up. His face was looking somewhat soft and kind, but then it switched suddenly, and that same person who was holding her hand, suddenly jerked his hand away, and Tea fell back to the ground, cringing when she hit the cold earth. She looked in shock at him, and realized that it was Yami Bakura who pulled his hand back and pushed her away. Then, looking grimly and darkly at her, he mouthed a sentence, Tea never expected to hear from him in such situation.

_"Get it yourself, mortal..."_

"Whaaa-!!"

A high pitched yell echoed trough the room. Moon was casting its shadows trough the window, revealing a wide eyed, and a very petrified girl, gasping for air, sitting in her bed, and clutching the blanket tightly.

After a moment of realization, that she was still in her room, and not in the middle of some creepy cemetery, Tea sighed, shaking her head vigorously, trying to calm down.

"Wha-what was that?" She managed to choke out, holding her chest, still breathing rapidly. She looked at her hands, and then stroked her hair behind her ears, exhaling deeply to steady her breathing. Her heart was still racing, and she swallowed a lump in her throat.

It happened again.

'Why?' she thought bitterly, holding her head in her hands for a while, staring at the blanket, still in a sitting position. Why was she having dreams about creepy cemeteries, weird Duel Monsters cards, and on top of it all – Yami Bakura? She just didn't understand. Why now? Why not before? Did it have to do something with that incident at the park?

She turned her head to look at the alarm clock that was once again on her night table, looking whole and useable. 

"Great, it's 3 am, and I can't sleep... What is going on with me?" She whispered, dropping back down onto the pillow, trying to sort her thoughts.

It was Saturday already, and instead of having a good night sleep, and a good day of not going to school, she was having nightmares about that arrogant tomb robber.

"This just _can't_ be happening..."

A couple of hours later, Tea was sitting in the kitchen, drinking coffee, since she figured that it was the only things that could keep her awake...and sane.

She was poking trough her breakfast, sighing every now and then, thinking about the dream she had. Why was she dreaming about him? Was there a reason?

Then, she let the fork drop to the plate, a sudden idea popping in her mind.

What if Bakura was playing with her dreams, trying to use her to get to the Millennium Puzzle?

"Oh, no...that can't be..." she mumbled, staring at her plate in disbelief. In that case, she was playing a role of marionette, him holding the strings. She covered her mouth with her hand. It could be true; after all, it wouldn't be the first time for Bakura to try using sly tricks to get to Yuugi and his Millennium item.

"Oh, my God", she chocked out, "I have to...I have to do something!" she finished her sentence, rising up from the chair, but then sitting back down onto it a second later.

But, how could she tell Yuugi and Yami about it? They'd know that she was lying to them before, and then...would they trust her again? A ringing sound of a telephone made her jump slightly, and she got up, still a bit startled to even think properly. She picked up the phone, twirling the cord nervously.

"Yes?" she asked, hoping that it wasn't Yuugi on the phone again. The voice on the other side surprised her, and her eyes widened slightly.

"Hallo Tea, how are you?"

Tea stared at the kitchen floor, not knowing hot to react to the voice of Ryou Bakura.

"Uhm...h-hey Ryou, I'm, uh, fine, great!" she spluttered, sounding stupid even to herself.

Ryou looked at the telephone, confused about her strange stuttering. 

"Uhm, well, I was wondering if you could help me with something?" he asked, hoping that she could. Tea gulped.

'What does he want from me now?' she wondered, before hesitantly asking what was it about. Ryou eyed the Chemistry book on his table, and smiled sheepishly.

"Well, I have some trouble writing my Chemistry homework, and since you're so good at it, I was wondering if you could help me a bit with it?" The hopeful tone in his voice was evident, and Tea sighed inwardly. She already thought Bakura had forced him to do something unpleasant. She smiled, and nodded, relieved.

"Sure, come over and I'll see what I can do." She replied, shifting her balance on the other foot.

"Actually...", Ryou spoke, taking the book in his hand, and observing the tomb robber in the next room, watching TV with a bored expression, "Could you come here? Bakura will yell at me if I go somewhere", he added, lowering his voice to a whisper, "and I know he hates to be alone in the house." He finished, and Tea raised her eyebrows. That she didn't expect to hear. Bakura being afraid to stay alone in the house? Maybe Ryou was just exaggerating... But what was she supposed to do now? If she goes there, Bakura will be there, and those dreams will haunt her, and then she'll feel uncomfortable and –"

"Tea, are you still there?" Ryou's whisper was heard, and Tea snapped out of her ramblings.

"Uh, yeah, yeah, I am. Uhm...well, I don't know, really, I, uhm..." she was babbling, trying to figure out an excuse for not being able to come, but Ryou interrupted her.

"Please, Tea? I know you don't like Bakura a lot, but he's not so bad, really. And I really need your help with my homework." He pleaded, and Tea sighed. How could she say no to Ryou? He was a pure goodness, comparing to his other half, the notorious tomb robber, who was anything but nice, like Ryou was.

"Well...", she started, thinking about it, while Ryou was waiting anxiously for an answer, "Okay, but just for an hour, then I'm gone." She added, and Ryou smiled.

"Thank you so much, Tea." He said, and Tea smiled back.

"No problem. I'll see youu...", she looked at her watch, counting time until she'd be ready," in twenty minutes, okay?" 

Ryou nodded, saying that it was okay, and that he'll be waiting for her with a Chemistry book, and his poor knowledge. The line broke, and Tea sighed again, putting the phone down, looking at it for a couple of minutes.

Great, what did she get herself into now?

"Who were you talking to?" Ryou was just about to go and get some snacks, when Bakura stopped him with his question. Ryou's face went blank for a moment, but he managed to mutter something about a friend coming to help him with his homework. Bakura was looking at him for a moment, observing his pale face, and then snorted.

"Just leave _me_ alone." He said, and Ryou nodded, glad that he didn't ask more questions. He knew how he'd react if he had told him that a friend of Pharaoh's was coming over.

Tea ringed on the doorbell, clutching the book in her hand, hoping that Bakura won't throw her out of the house. 

'I wouldn't be surprised, though...'

Ryou was still upstairs, so it was on Bakura to open the door. He growled, putting on a perfect mask of irritation and anger. That friend of his should better behave, or else he'll send him to Shadow realm.

The doors swung open, and Tea was about to say smile and say hi, when her face froze, and the book she was holding almost slipped out of her hand. She was staring at a pair of dark, menacing eyes, who belonged to no one else than Yami Bakura.

He froze, too, standing in front of her, holding the handle with a painful grip, staring back at her. What was _she_ doing here? She wasn't the friend Ryou was talking about, was she?

Tea gulped, and tried to stay composed, keeping the book from falling, and trying to look unimpressed by his glare and the threatening gleam in his eyes.

"Bakura." She said, as if she was identifying him, and then turned aside to look at Ryou was coming down the stairs, looking at them uneasily. 

"Hey, Ryou!" she said, totally ignoring Bakura's presence and stepping into the house. She passed by him, and left him standing there. He turned around a bit, sending death glares in Ryou's direction. He managed to crack a smile, hoping that he won't end up in another dimension afterwards.

Tea felt shivers traveling up and down her spine, not being able to shake those glaring eyes out of her mind. The doors closed with a bang, and Bakura left back to the living room, disappearing behind the wall. Tea sat down on the chair Ryou offered her, and smiled politely at him.

"I'm sorry about that." He mumbled apologetically, and she nodded understandingly. 

"It's okay." She replied, and put the book down on the table. Ryou opened his notebook, and showed her the problems he couldn't solve and things he didn't understand. Tea smiled warmly, leaning down to explain him how things worked, forgetting for a while that Bakura was even there.

He was flipping the channels, feeling strangely nervous and confused suddenly. What was it? What was that girl doing to him? Since that time he saw her in the park, things changed drastically. 

What was going on? 

He didn't know it himself, but the presence of that girl was...disturbing. He growled in irritation silently, and turned the TV off. He threw the remote on the sofa, and leaned back into the cushions. He heard them, heard his hikari asking questions about some elements, and heard her soft voice, explaining it all to him.

He let out a snort, not comprehending what mortals of today were forced to know. Stupid things, that they probably won't even need in their life. All they have to know is how to survive...That spineless hikari of his should've asked him about life, and he would tell him how to survive, how to live, what to know and what to understand. Instead of that, he was stuffing his brain with totally unnecessarily facts...

He sighed, irritation becoming almost unbearable. It became silent, the voices died down, and he couldn't hear anything anymore. What was going on, now? A strange pang of something he didn't understand, ran trough his chest, and acting on an impulse, he got up, and silently approached the wall that separated living room from the kitchen. He peeked behind the wall, and his eyes narrowed. The girl was close to him, leaning down to watch what he was scribbling on the piece of paper. She nodded silently, and he raised his head, and smiled, satisfied with himself. The girl smiled back, and Bakura's eyes narrowed again, frown filling his expression. 

What were they doing? That odd pang in his chest appeared again, and he lowered his eyes, shaking his head, and telling himself that it wasn't worth his attention anyway. 

He sat back on the sofa, turning the TV on again, getting ready to flip channels. The girl's laughter was heard from the kitchen, and soon, Ryou laughed as well. A strange feeling surged trough Bakura, ending in the pit of his stomach, and his eyes widened, when he realized what that feeling was. 

It was the same feeling he felt when he saw Pharaoh, when he saw other people having more money, having more luck, living a better life than he was living. The same feeling that made him steal, that turned him into what he was. But, somehow, that feeling was different back then – it was a hunger, a hunger to achieve more, to possess more, but this feeling was, however, different.

Bakura cursed the damn girl, when he realized that he was able to feel again, that she managed to do something that woke up those well - locked emotions, that she managed to crack his walls somehow, and that now, he was starting to feel one certain emotion, that was related to the feeling he swore he'd never feel again.

He was jealous.

**AN:**

***sigh* **

**Done with this chapter. Took me a while to write it, and I used that little break I had to finish it, so there it is. Now, I really have to get down to studying; but since you people encouraged me to write more so much, I decided to write another chapter for the weekend.**

**Uhm, **dustbunny690**- I know that you want more fluff, but I'll get to that in later chapters. Right now, I'm trying to crack Bakura's walls, because Bakura is...well, Bakura! ^_^; **

**But don't worry, there will be fluff, and things like that, but you'll just have to wait a bit... *smiles***

**Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, and don't forget to send me a review.**

**Okay, now I reaaally have to go!**

**Bye now!**

**A.S.A**


	4. Realizations

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, or any of its characters...a little more of this, and I'll get bored with writing it...

**Out of the blue**

**Chapter IV – Realizations**

-by Alena S. Anigor

Ryou nodded understandingly and smiled; finally being able to understand some things, he didn't have a clue about. Tea was sitting next to him, drinking her juice. She did cast a few glances behind her to see what _he_ was doing, but she wasn't able to see him, because the wall was blocking the view. She could only see a faint light coming out of the room, and hear voices and sounds coming from the TV. Obviously, he decided to leave them alone. She snorted mentally, 'like he would even want to meddle with stupid mortals...'.

Ryou raised his head, finished with the last task she gave him to solve, and she lowered the glass to the table, leaning a bit to see what he wrote. He shoved the notebook aside a bit, and she ran a quick check across the notebook, before nodding and smiling at him.

"Good job, Ryou, you did it!" She exclaimed, happy that he managed to understand what she was showing him the last hour and a half. Time flew quickly, and they both haven't even noticed it, although, someone else has.

Bakura was staring at the screen, not really paying attention to what was on it. His eyes were looking pass the screen, somewhere distant. He was sitting like that, simply staring forward, and thinking. Thinking and casually listening to the conversation from the other room. It seemed like that lousy wimp has finally managed to understand what the girl was trying to explain to him, and he snorted silently, thanking Ra for finally making him use that brain of his.

He heard a sudden commotion coming from the kitchen, and a sound of chairs pulling, filled his hearing. He rose from the couch, leaving the TV on, and silently approached the wall that separated the living room from the kitchen.

Imitating his old habits of sneaking up on someone important or something valuable, he let one eye peek behind the corner; his sharp looking bangs falling slightly aside from his forehead. His eyes revealed curiosity, as he was watching the girl smiling at his hikari, and him smiling back, thanking her for her help and bowing in respect. He let out a snort; he'd never bow to anyone!

He was spying on them, without them even knowing, and silently, he observed the girl, the same girl that did something to him, the same girl he knew would be his doom, and his fall.

But the worst thing was, that he couldn't help it. As much as he tried to block those sensations that were called feelings, he just couldn't put them away, lock them somewhere safe or burry them somewhere deep like he used to before. He sighed inwardly; it was so much easier before...

Setting his eyes on the girl again, he noticed the intensity of blue color in her eyes; they were so blue, that they reminded him of the same color of Nile; blue, and crystal. The way she smiled and the way her eyes glistened when she was talking, was something that made his insides burn. He shook his head immediately when he realized in what direction were his thoughts bringing him. What for Ra's sake was he doing? He was letting a puny mortal rule his life? Never!

He was ready to go back to the channel flipping, when the soft voice of Ryou stopped him.

"Bakura, I didn't know you were watching, did you want something?"

'Damn!' He cursed mentally, then turning around swiftly, and glaring at him, he opened his mouth to speak, his lips formed into a snarl.

"No! I don't want nor need _anything_ from you, understood?" He spat out, making Ryou flinch slightly, and making Tea stare in surprise. She knew he wasn't a very social person...at all, but the way he was treating Ryou, who was in fact, taking care of him, was anything but fair.

She wanted to say something, but a cold glare directed towards her, made her mouth close, and she decided not to say anything, for hers and Ryou's sake. Who knows what he might do to him after she's gone? 

She looked at Ryou sadly, but he only smiled softly, knowing that it was his way of communicating and that was that.

Bakura leaned on the wall, crossing his arms over his chest, and was now glaring at them both. Tea was standing like a statue in the middle of the kitchen, not knowing what to do. Then, her reflexes kicked in, and she looked at her watch, smiling uncomfortably, and then coughed, looking at Ryou.

"Oh, wow, it's late, I really should be going." She said, and Ryou nodded.

"Damn straight." Was heard from a Yami standing on the right. Tea looked at him, glaring back, then turned on her heels and headed towards the door.

Turning one last time to look at them, she smiled politely and reached for the doorknob, opening the doors.

"Good night, Ryou." His name was emphasized in that certain manner, which meant that the greeting was meant only for him. Bakura growled when the doors closed, and sending Ryou one last death - threatening glare, went back to the living room and stretched on the couch, grabbing the remote in the process.

Ryou sighed inwardly, glad that he was still alive. He knew that he shouldn't have asked her to come, that it would anger the ancient tomb robber, but he was hoping that he wouldn't be so mad, which in the end, was the case. The only thing he wanted was for Bakura to accept Yuugi and Yami as his friends, and everyone else who belonged to their little gang, but that seemed impossible. He shook his head, and started cleaning the table, repeating what he had learned today, in his mind.

Tea was walking silently down the park, although her face wasn't looking that peaceful. She was fuming, silently muttering all sorts of insults she could remember at the moment. The nerve of that guy! He was really one grumpy, old, annoying, not to forget evil, arrogant, selfish, self-centric... 

There she stopped, not coming up with any other word to describe him. She was almost running down the path now, frowning more with every second. Reaching the place where she met him two days ago, she stopped briefly, looking at the bench where he sat, and actually _flirted_ with her...

She shook her head, telling herself that it wasn't flirting; he was simply playing with her, toying with her. She remembered suddenly the little pencil that jerk didn't want to give her back, and she leaned forward, lowering down to see if it was still there, by any chance. After looking under, and all over the bench, and finding nothing, she sighed.

"Figures", she muttered, putting her hair behind her ears, "what did you expect?"

She got up, and looking one last time at the bench, she hesitantly sat down on it, not knowing herself why she did it. She leaned on the back of the bench, relaxing slightly. She looked around a bit, wondering why was he here in the first place, what was he looking for right here, on this bench. She put the book aside, and inhaled deeply.

Spending some time thinking and observing the surroundings, she sighed, telling herself how stupid she was for sitting down, and yet again, thinking about him. What was going on with her?

She leaned forward, still sitting on the bench, crossing her fingers and letting her head rest on them. 

She just didn't understand; since that evening when she met him here, she's having weird dreams about him, and she can't stop thinking about him or those dreams...

Then her eyes widened a bit, as one thought crossed her mind as a possible reason. She gasped, raising her head, and staring at the tree in front of her.

'No,' she thought, 'I'm not...I'm not attracted to him now, am I?!'

It all made sense: the way she was dreaming about him, and the way she was thinking about him...it all made sense!

Tea let out a soft noise, something between a sigh and a moan, that sudden realization dawning on her, and totally catching her unprepared and confused.

She leaned back again, her back hitting the bench almost audibly, as she let the realization sink in.

She actually developed a crush on Yami Bakura!

She averted her eyes to the sky, watching a shiny orb on it, breathing rapidly, eyes widening again. That just couldn't be! He was a tomb robber; an ancient one, and an evil one, on top of it all, and he tried to hurt her and her friends several times already. There wasn't even one single good thing she could think of about him. Not even one! 

"This is insane..." She mumbled, covering her eyes with her hands, head lowering down to her knees. 

"Maybe I am insane, too..." She uttered, and then a cold shiver ran trough her body. It was getting cold, and she realized that it was really late already, and that she should be home in bed. 

Slowly, she got up, clutching the book slightly, and started walking home, the thoughts about Bakura still filling her mind, and her brain having some difficulties processing those thoughts.

It simply...made no sense to her at all...

Closing the doors behind him with a loud bang, and making Ryou cringe in the next room, Bakura sighed loudly, the ever present frown on his face, softening a bit. He leaned on the door, putting his hands behind him for support.

What was his life becoming to?

He got away from the doors, and approaching the table in the middle of the room, he lowered his head, and his eyes fell on the little blue pencil that was still lying uselessly on the table. He picked it up, feeling a sudden need to crack it in half, and then throw it away for good. That way it wouldn't haunt him anymore.

But then again, something inside told him not to do it, that it was just a pencil...But the other part of him yelled back, telling the other that it was _her_ pencil, and that he didn't want to have to do anything with her, or any of her friends!

The internal battle lasted for a minute or so, making Bakura stare helplessly at the pencil, twirling it vigorously between his fingers, not being able to decide about its fate. Finally, frustration got the best of him, and the pencil landed on the table, thrown away again.

He sat on the bed, growling silently in anger. 

He couldn't allow that to happen...he just couldn't. A part of him that was kept locked away for a very long time, rebelled, filling him with a need and the desire to _feel_ those things, to just feel how _it_ feels...just once, to know how it really feels to have friends, to have someone who lov –

"No, damn it!" He yelled his frustrations out loud, and then quickly shut his mouth. He heard doors opening, and he got up from the bed quickly, turning his attention to the doors.

"I'm fine, damn it!" He growled, hearing footsteps coming his way, and then stopping, hearing his warning.

"Go back to sleep." He added in somewhat, civil tone, and Ryou hesitated for a moment, before going back to his room. The doors closed, and Bakura sighed, trying to calm his anger. He sat on the bed again, straightening his pointy bangs, and leaning down to rest on the bed fully. He put his legs up, deciding not to change in those stupid, absurd – looking clothes they called pajamas, and closed his eyes.

The worst thing was that when he closed his eyes, the only thing that came to his mind, was Tea Gardner. Her hair, her eyes, her smile; his vision was full of her, and Bakura had to open his eyes to stop the images from coming. He gritted his teeth, putting his hands behind his neck, staring at the ceiling. 

He knew exactly what was going on; somehow, that girl was able to wake those damn feelings of his, somehow, she was able to make his insides burn with something he, quite frankly, never experienced before. And on top of it all -  she was making him feel jealous. Suddenly imagining someone else with her, made his eyes burn with the desire to kill, and made his fists clench unconsciously.

Realizing that he managed to, once again, come too far with _those_ thoughts, he growled, closing his eyes and forcing his mind to create images of Millennium Items.

And he frowned, thinking about Yami and the midget version of him, telling himself once again, that he _will_ get that Millennium Puzzle one day, and that he _will_ make him feel pain and suffer.

And he closed his emotions once again, there where they, in his opinion, belonged – in the dungeon called his heart.

**I managed to pass that exaaamm...*sings happily* **

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I really appreciate your reviews, they really make me happy, and they inspire me to write more.**

**Unfortunately, I have another exam in three days, so you'll have to wait a bit to read chapter 5.**

**Anyway, I gotta go now. Hope you liked this chapter.**

**Bye!**

**A.S.A**


	5. Faking

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh...nope...

**Out of the blue**

**Chapter V – Faking**

-by Alena S. Anigor

Closing the book she was reading the past two hours, Tea sighed in relief, happy that she managed to read it. The letters were becoming less and less appealing every minute, and now she was finally glad that she managed to read the last chapter in the History book. There was no doubt she would flunk on that test, and she didn't want to leave it that way.

Leaning back in her chair, she looked trough her window, watching the branches and the sun casting shiny beams trough them. The window was open, and she could hear birds chirping from the nearby tree.

She was chewing on her pencil, the one she managed to find in her drawer since her favorite one ended up who knows where. That pencil brought her back to the certain tomb robber, and Tea's cheeks turned slightly pink. She only realized that when her cheeks started burning suddenly, and she caught herself blushing. And because of whom?

Yami Bakura.

Tea smacked her forehead, putting the pencil on the desk and sighing. Surprisingly enough, she had a good night sleep, and she didn't have any kinds of dreams about Bakura. She was wondering why...could it be that her own realizations made the nightmares stop?

She shook her head, the blush still evident on her face. She put the hands behind her head, supporting her neck, and letting her hair fall on them.

Who was she kidding? She could have developed a crush on Bakura, but what does that mean to him? 

She let her eyes fall downward, and now she was staring blankly at the edge of her desk, lost in her thoughts.

Bakura was...Bakura, there was no other way to describe him. He was an ancient tomb robber, and he probably killed many people in his past, and robbed who knows how many tombs, stealing everything that had a decent value. 

In that moment she asked herself if he ever even had a girlfriend...or a mate, or what ever the ancient Egyptians had in that time...

'No', she said silently to herself, 'I don't believe he'd ever even experienced real love.'

Tea's eyes closed for a second, and she opened them a moment later, revealing sadness in them. She actually pitied him in the end...

She shook her head again. What was she thinking? Pitying a person, a spirit of the Millennium ring, who wanted to hurt her and her friends? She was really becoming a hopeless case. Averting her eyes from the desk, she looked trough the window again. It was still rather chilly, but the sun was shining, and Tea decided to spend the afternoon doing something relaxing, instead of thinking about Yami Bakura, who probably didn't feel anything towards her, except maybe hate and disgust due to the thing that she was a mere mortal, and a friend of his archenemy. 

She got up, deciding to call someone and ask them if they wanted to go out for a walk or something. It was a Sunday afternoon, and she had enough of book reading and Yami Bakura ramblings.

After a few telephone calls, she sighed, and put the phone down. Yuugi and Yami were somewhere out, probably playing Duel Monsters, according to the words of Yuugi's grandfather. Joey went out with Serenity and Mai somewhere, and Tristan didn't even answer the phone at all.

"Great," she muttered, "when you need them, you can't find them anywhere." She eyed the phone angrily, already prepared to spend the Sunday in utter boredom. But then again, one person's name came to her mind, and she was already on the way to dial the numbers, but then she stopped suddenly, letting the phone down like it was about to bite her.

"But, what if..." She whispered silently, staring at the phone, and thinking about whether to call Ryou or not. She wanted to spend the afternoon with _someone_, but what if Bakura answers the phone? Or even worse – what if he decides to come with them?

The solutions were running trough her head, each one of them dealing with the thought of Bakura interfering.

She looked at the clock on the wall; it was already past 2 pm, and she didn't have much time to think about the possibilities. She decided to call Ryou, and if Bakura answers the phone, she'll keep her cool, and ask politely to talk to Ryou. Yeah, that was a good plan.

She dialed the number, and taking a deep breath, she waited for someone to pick up the phone. Secretly, she hoped Bakura would answer it...although, she didn't quite know how would she react in that case...

Bakura was just about to start his usual routine of wiping out the fridge, when he heard the annoying ring of the telephone, interrupting him from making a sandwich. He growled silently; that spineless wimp definitely managed to pick a good moment to get out of the house and leave him all alone to deal with unwanted phone calls and unwanted visitors. He left the house five minutes ago, saying something about going to the store to buy some food, and that he'll be back in a minute.

'Yeah, right,' Bakura thought, 'smart guy. Maybe I should scare him off a bit when he returns home'. That thought made him smirk evilly, and with an exasperated sigh and a low growl, he put the sandwich down and went to answer the phone. He already knew how to shake those nasty pests off his hook; all he needed to do, was to tell them that they got the hell's residence, and that they should prepare to get fried, screaming in agony. Of course, the line would go flat after that, and Ryou was left wondering why nobody ever calls him again.

He snatched the phone roughly, and glared at it, already prepared to say his usual greeting, in case they become too nagging.

"Speak." 

Tea was about to say something, when the voice across the line froze her ability to say anything. The voice sounded like Bakura's, but she didn't know for sure. She decided to ask first.

"Hey, Ryou, is that you?"

Brief silence followed.

Bakura's eyes widened, his mouth opening slightly. He, too, couldn't utter a single syllable out of his mouth. Why was she calling again? Did she want to talk to that wimp? And why? 

The last question in his mind was asked in a rough tone, his eyes narrowing slightly. Why did she call him again? What did she want from _him_?

"Ryou, you there?"

Bakura snapped out of his thoughts, still frozen himself. And the next thing he knew, he had said something that he hadn't wanted to say at all, but his mouth seemed to react before his brain.

"Yes."

He stared in disbelief at the phone. What did he do?! Why the hell did he say that he was Ryou?

Tea sighed in relief. She already thought Bakura answered the phone. 

"Oh, good, I already thought it was Bakura. You sounded a bit weird...is everything okay?" She asked, and he frowned; her reply stuck in his ears. What was he? Some kind of monster that she didn't want to talk to him? However, he forced himself to stay composed, trying to imitate Ryou's voice.

"No, I'm fine...thank you." The last two words really seemed forced out, even to Tea. She blinked, wondering if Ryou maybe caught a cold or was Bakura spying on him again? She shook her head, asking him if he'd like to meet her somewhere to hang out a bit. A brief silence followed again, and Tea had to call his name again.

'Does he have hearing problems?' She thought, when she heard him asking her where and when.

Bakura flinched when he heard her question. She wanted to meet him, and hang out with him? Something in him started to turn again, and he cursed inwardly, reminding himself that she was asking _Ryou, _not him. So, he simply asked where and when, since nothing else came to his mind at the moment.

He heard her smiling voice across the line, and that feeling as if his stomach was turning, appeared again. He almost cursed out loud, but managed to cover his mouth on time.

Tea arranged the time, saying that she'll be waiting for him in front of Domino Park in twenty minutes. Bakura's eyes widened, when her words sunk in.

"You want to meet me, now, today?" He almost sounded frantic, and Tea wondered briefly if that was really Ryou she was talking to.

"Yes, of course. That's why I'm calling you, silly." She replied, waiting for an answer.

Bakura wanted to yell back at her for calling him silly, but again, he managed to stop himself from ruining his cover. But he was still in trouble. How was he supposed to know she wanted to meet him _now_?

"Ryou, are you okay? I mean, you don't have to go if you don't want to. I'll find someone else and-"

"No!"

The sudden outburst from the boy across the line was everything but natural. Tea's eyes widened slightly. That wasn't really Bakura she was talking to the whole time, was it?! But, why would he want to pretend that he was Ryou, then?

Questions popped up in her mind this time, and the line was silent for a couple of moments, until Bakura coughed, breaking an almost dead silence.

"I mean, I'd l-like to meet you at the park." He replied and sighed. The word 'like' was certainly not in his vocabulary, and it wasn't used very often.

The girl sighed across the line, and agreed. She said one final 'bye, see you there', and hung up. The line broke, leaving a very confused, scared and astonished tomb robber, staring at the phone. After a while, he dared to put the phone back, still staring at it.

What did he just do? Why for Ra's sake did he took a role of Ryou, played it to the end, and on top of all that – agreed to meet that girl at the park? Bakura could only growl in anger. He clenched his fists, gritting his teeth, glaring at the phone. What did he get himself into? Now he'll have to go to the park and spend the whole afternoon, _hanging out_ with a filthy mortal, who was a close friend of Pharaoh's! And he couldn't, nor didn't want to say that to Ryou, because Ra knows what that wimp would say and think of him. 

He shook his head, and started pacing trough the kitchen. He wanted to slam his head against the wall.

Why? Why did he do that? What did that girl make him do?

He looked at the clock on the kitchen wall. He had ten minutes to get ready, meet her at the park, and then spend the whole afternoon with _her_, acting as if he was _Ryou_. He smacked his forehead.

"Idiot!" He spat out, leaning over the kitchen table, holding the edges of it tightly. He was still reconsidering the thought to just stay at home, and when Ryou comes, simply tell him that she called and told him to meet him at the park. He started pacing again, but then stopped. Somehow, that thought sounded disturbing; to leave him to go and meet her, instead of him. After all, it was him who answered the phone and agreed to meet her.

He sighed in irritation, slamming his fist against the wall. 

"Damn it." He muttered.

That girl definitely did something to him.

Fifteen minutes later, Tea was looking at her watch, counting minutes, then seconds until Ryou would finally appear. She was sitting on the bench, and she was sitting at that certain bench, fidgeting with her fingers nervously.

Why did she have a strange impression she was talking to Bakura? But why would Bakura act like Ryou, and then agree to meet her, and hang out with her? No, that couldn't be. It must've been Ryou; he was just probably being glared at by Bakura, and couldn't talk to her normally.

She looked at her watch again, seeing that Ryou was late already. She decided to wait a little longer, hoping that he'd show up. 

Bakura was hidden behind the tree, not so far away. He was watching the girl intently, noticing the way she was dressed. The shorts were short enough to show the way her legs were shaped perfectly, and her tank top was making her waist look slim, tightly accentuating every curve of her body. She was looking at her watch constantly, fidgeting nervously every now and then. She was looking in all directions, hoping to see him – no, hoping to see Ryou coming out of one of them.

But, Bakura was glued to the spot. He was feeling strange, just by looking at her like that, feeling his stomach turn again, like there was a giant sand-storm in it, and his heart started to beat more quickly. He tried to suppress those impulses; those indications he knew had to do everything with the girl sitting a couple of feet away from him. 

She turned her head in the other direction suddenly, and he peeked around the corner a bit to see who was she looking at. A tall guy was coming her way, and he noticed the way he was staring at her. That burning feeling inside his chest started to rise again, and almost unconsciously, he stepped away from his hideout and started walking towards them. She was talking to him, and he narrowed his eyes dangerously at him, realizing he was trying to hit on her. She was smiling politely at him, which made him feel extremely angry, blood boiling inside him. 

Tea didn't even notice him, until he appeared, suddenly stepping between her and the guy across her. He was turned with his back to her, and she couldn't quite see his face. She did, however notice the way his hair was looking spikier than usual. She stiffened a gasp, realizing that it _was_ Yami Bakura she was talking to, and that it was him who was currently glaring daggers at the guy in front of him. 

The guy was slightly taller than him, but he got the picture, and smiling politely at both of them, stepped aside, leaving them alone, and disappeared behind the corner. 

Tea gulped silently once, wondering briefly why was Bakura here in the first place.

"Uhm, B-Ryou! What took you so long?" She asked suddenly, breaking the tense atmosphere between them. He turned to look at her, and she almost let out a surprised sound when she saw his face. He was looking almost like Ryou, if there wasn't for his hair, and the darker shade of color of his eyes.

Bakura's breath got caught in his throat, when he finally turned around, and looked at her. She was looking at him, seeming somewhat surprised, but the way her eyes glistened on the sunshine, almost took his breath away.

"Had some problems with...", there he stopped, looking aside a bit, wondering what would Ryou say in this situation. The he forced a cracked smile, and put his hands behind his back. "I had some problems with Bakura, you know..." He added, hoping she'd believe him. It sounded so damn weird when he was talking about himself, and imitating a different person at the same time. 

The girl was looking at him for a couple of seconds, and it seemed to him as if she was investigating him. He cringed inwardly, not letting his mask fall down.

"Okay, let's go then!" She exclaimed happily. Normally, she would have taken his hand and pulled him after her, but this was _Bakura_, and God knows what would happen if she'd take his hand. Maybe he'd feel offended for being touched by a mortal, and she'd end up in another dimension for that.

So, she simply started walking beside him, casting casual glances at him, still wondering why was he doing that.

'Well,' she thought, 'if anything else, I should be spending a very interesting afternoon.'

Coming home from the store, he spent an almost half an hour trying to get in line, Ryou closed the doors behind him, finally breathing normally. He was running the entire way home, hoping to see Bakura in his better moods, which would mean – he'd yell at him, threat him a bit, then grab what he had to offer from his hands, and disappear back into the living room.

He let out a long sigh, putting the bags with groceries onto the table, searching for any signal of Bakura or the sound of the TV.

After searching the whole house, and not finding his current _housemate_, he was left to stand in the middle of the kitchen, wondering where did he go.

**AN:**

**Okay, done with the chapter five...**

**I guess you can see that from now on, there will be more romantic, and more...intense situations. I'm not saying there will be fluff in the next chapter right away, but...I'll get to that, soon. ^_^**

**Anyway, thanks for all your reviews-they really encourage me to write more. You guys are the best!**

**Okay, got to go now, so...**

**Till next chapter,**

**Bye!**

**A.S.A**


	6. No escape

Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh...I think even my neighbors are aware of that by now...

**Out of the blue**

**Chapter VI – No escape**

-by Alena S. Anigor

The streets were crowded with people, little children running around, playfully trying to catch one another, and their mothers reminding them to be careful. It was pretty warm for an autumn afternoon, but that suited Tea just fine. Her companion, however, seemed to be in deep thoughts, hiding his hands in his pockets, and staring at his feet as they were walking down the street.

Bakura was indeed in deep thoughts; for once, he didn't have a clue how to react from the moment they began walking. He was trying to imitate Ryou, and think of something what he would say or do, but it was just...impossible. He was different, and he definitely wasn't a very social person. So, instead of babbling something completely idiotic, he kept quiet, gazing at his feet, and trying to stay calm. That was somehow hard to maintain, because that swirling feeling in his stomach, and the rushed beating of his heart made things a bit more difficult. Not paying attention where he was going, he accidentally bumped into something small in front of him that let out a pained sound, and managed to snap him out of his thoughts.

"Oww, watch where you're going!" The little boy, who was currently lying on the street, glared at him from below, rubbing the back of his arm. Bakura frowned, glaring back.

"Watch where _you're_ go-" He stopped abruptly, casting a glance at the girl beside him, who was looking at him with raised eyebrows, her mouth slightly agape. 

Tea was watching the whole thing from the beginning; she knew he wasn't really paying attention to the world around him, and she knew he'd stumble across that boy, but she wanted to see how he'd react. And now, her speculations came true, because he almost gave himself away, glaring at the kid, wanting to retort his own insult. Almost.

Bakura noticed the way she was looking at him, eyeing him with eyes full of surprise and confusion. He kicked himself mentally for letting his mask slip down, and he turned to the kid, forcing his face to smile, which scared the little boy even more. Bakura leaned down a bit, trying to keep his control, and smiled again.

"What I meant to say was..." he started, his brain trying to come up with adequate words, "well, I didn't mean to hit you, I wasn't really paying attention."

That was said in such a soft voice that Tea almost believed for one second that this was really Ryou, standing next to her. But his eyes were still different, a spark of something mysterious and dark still in them, and she was sure that it was Bakura who was walking down the street with her.

The little boy stared at him for a while, before his mother came and pulled him up, scolding the boy silently, and looking apologetically at Bakura, who only shrugged. They turned away from them, and Tea could hear the boy saying that it wasn't his fault. She smiled then turned to Bakura, sighing inwardly. At least he tried to be nice for once.

He turned his head to look at her, and something clenched around his heart; the girl was looking at him with such admiration and pride, that it almost hurt. He quickly turned his head away, and headed down the street, placing the hands in his pockets again, this time paying attention to where he was going. Tea stood behind him, and then decided to follow, on single thought occupying her mind.

_Maybe Ryou was right...he isn't that bad when you look at him closely._

She smiled, keeping up the pace with him, as they continued walking down the street.

After they made a few rounds around the main square, Tea was starting to feel hungry; besides, her feet were killing her from walking for so long. The only problem was - how was she supposed to tell that to him. They haven't spoken one real sentence since they started walking, and she didn't know how to start. So, she hesitantly tapped his shoulder, and got his attention. He craned his neck aside a bit to see who tapped him, and saw her, looking at him pleadingly. He stopped walking, wondering what she wanted from him.

Tea smiled, stopping by the fountain in the middle of the square, and fidgeted nervously with her fingers.

"Uhm, Ryou, can we stay here for a while? I'm kinda hungry and my feet are killing me." She added, casting a glance at her platform shoes, and then back at him. The pleading look in her eyes was becoming too much to look at, and he felt himself loosing in the blue sea of her eyes. He just nodded, not knowing what else to say, and Tea sat down on the edge of the fountain, stretching her legs forward, and leaning back a bit, but not to close; she didn't want to end up wet. Bakura was standing awkwardly in front of her, still looking at her. The girl captivated him somehow, and he couldn't pull himself away. Tea looked at him, the fear of him gone long ago, and noticed that he was still standing.

"Won't you sit down?" She asked him, and he looked at the fountain edge, and hesitantly sat down next to her. Tea sighed, having enough of his silence. But, she didn't want to reveal the fact that she knew who he was, just yet. So, she was thinking of various questions to ask him, questions concerning Ryou mostly.

"So, how are you doing at school? I'll flunk that History test." She said in a hopeful voice. 

Bakura cringed inwardly. How was he doing in school? What school? Then he remembered that she was asking _Ryou_, not him. He turned his head and tried to look her in the eyes.

"Fine, I'm doing fine." He replied in the voice completely identical to Ryou's. Tea nodded, and silence took over again.

'Great,' she thought, 'now what?'

Bakura was cursing mentally, cursing himself for coming here and cursing that damn hikari of his for not being home when she called. But, he cursed those damn feelings he was feeling the most. Normally, he would've insulted her by now, or started insulting those idiotic friends of hers. Or he would simply stand up and leave, not wanting to do anything with a filthy mortal like her. But there he was, sitting with her on the edge of the fountain, not knowing what to say or how to act. He felt so lost and confused, like he was trapped in a dangerous trap, and the worst thing was – he wasn't sure if he wanted to get away from that trap.

Bakura growled inwardly; the girl held him captive in some bizarre way, and he couldn't get away from her, nor he couldn't stay near her. Her presence was starting to make him feel nervous and edgy, and he didn't notice when she touched his shoulder and called his name.

He flinched suddenly, and Tea pulled her hand away from his shoulder quickly. He looked at her, staring at her with the look of a trapped animal in his eyes and she realized that he was, as weird as it sounded, frightened. 

She was looking at him, too, a look of confusion and pain in her eyes. Was she really so repulsive to him that he was even scared of her?

"Wh-what's wrong? Are you okay?" She asked him in a whisper, eyes full of concern. Those eyes burned trough him and all he wanted to do was to get up and run away. But her eyes also held something else, something he couldn't define, but that something held him in place, and he was helplessly staring at her, lacking any kind of response to her expression. 

Tea thought for a moment she was looking at a statue, because he seemed like someone froze him. He was looking at her with a weird mixture of confusion, fear and...something bordering between astonishment and need for something. She let out an exasperated sigh.

"Please, tell me Bakura, what's wrong?" She dared to ask again, and the moment his eyes widened, she realized the mistake she made. She called him Bakura, not Ryou. 

Bakura's eyes widened when he heard her call his name, his name, not Ryou's. She knew, his senses were screaming at him, alarming him that she knew that it was him all this time.

"You knew?" He asked, his voice distant, sounding like he was in a trance. Tea put her hand across her lips; that fear and confusion in his eyes replaced by sudden anger and pain. It was her turn to stare at him now, wide – eyed. After what seemed like eternity to him, she finally nodded, eyes lowering down to stare at her knees. She didn't even blink, when he rose from the edge and glaring at her angrily, clenched his fists. Fear struck her now, and Tea also got up, backing away a bit from him, suddenly afraid of him again. His bangs lowered, covering his eyes, and his mouth forming a thin line into a frown. 

"You knew." He said in a low voice. "You knew, and you didn't tell me...why?" He asked her, eyes revealed again, anger and despise evident in them now. Tea only shook her head, trying to explain.

"I-I didn't know for real when you first...showed up, I thought...I thought..." she stopped, her voice wavering, and her eyes moist with tears.

Bakura's eyes softened a bit, but just a bit. She was crying...was it because she was sorry or because she was scared for her life? 

He snorted, venom evident in his voice.

"Then why did you pretend that you didn't know?!" He roared, and a few people turned to look at them. 

Tea let out an exasperated breath. "And why did you pretend that you were Ryou then?" She retorted back, fear mixed with her own anger now. 

Her question stuck in his head, and he didn't know what to reply. Indeed, why was he pretending that he was Ryou in the first place? 

They were both standing in front of the fountain, people watching with interest, some of them commenting that it was a natural fight among every couple. Bakura scanned the square, noticing the crowd that was staring at them. Tea noticed it, too, suddenly feeling exposed and uncomfortable. The next thing she knew, she was being grabbed by Bakura, and he started pulling her away, holding her upper arm in a tight grip. She protested, trying to pull away, but his grip was too strong, and she could only follow him, hearing whistles and cheers from the crowd. She glared at them, until they were gone from the square, him still pulling her behind.

Having enough of being pulled like an animal on a leash, she snatched her hand away, but he kept his grip on her. She growled angrily, trying all sorts of methods to pull free. They were walking down the park now, nothing but trees and bushes around them, and the sun was setting slowly, signaling that the day was on its end. 

"Bakura, let me go!" She screamed, starting to pull away from him, and he finally let go of her arm. That sudden movement caused her to lean backwards too fast and she fell, hitting the grass. Bakura didn't expect that to happen, but he made no move to help her stand up on her feet. Tea rubbed her back, cringing at the pain and then raised her eyes to glare at him, anger facing his stone cold eyes. He was standing in front of her, arms crossed, and head held high in superiority. Tea stood up, the anger giving her the needed fuel to forget all about her fear.

"What was that?! Why the hell did you do that? I could've broken something!" She screeched, clenching her fists, dusting her self off in the process. His expression didn't change; he was still looking at her like before. 

"That wouldn't be so bad, maybe I _should_ break something in your body." He replied coldly, and she frowned, the anger completely blocking her fear. His sentence didn't have an affect on her, and surprised by her own boldness, she approached him, standing exactly a few inches away from him, looking with fiery eyes into the depths of his.

"Well, why don't you then?"

A few moments passed in silence, in which they both glared at each other. Tea still hadn't backed away, and Bakura was still looking at her from above, being taller than her.

The thought of bones cracking was a tempting idea, but...he dismissed that thought. She was still glaring at him, not turning her eyes once away from his, and the thought of breaking anything on her was making him feel sick. He let his hands fall to his sides, and a flash of slight caution crossed her features. She thought he was preparing to do something to her, but she wouldn't back away, and she wouldn't run.

"Go." Was heard after what seemed like hours, and Tea's brows knitted in confusion.

"What?" She asked, letting her guard fall down and looking at him, not comprehending why didn't he do anything to her when he had such a good chance.

"I said go, go home." He repeated, and then turned around and started walking away, leaving a very confused and astonished girl behind.

Tea let out a breath of relief she didn't even know she was holding. She turned her head in the direction where he was walking, her mouth open. The night fell already, which none of them noticed. It became dark, and the streetlights turned on. But trees and bushes shadowed that particular part of the park, and Tea could only make out his figure, walking slowly down the street. Guilt welled up in her suddenly, for lying to him, and for making him so angry. In spite of her mind who was telling her to go home just like he told her, she started running after him, determined to apologize to him.

"Bakura, wait!" She yelled, but he didn't stop walking. She continued on running, hoping to catch him before he disappeared.

"Bakura, wait, please!" She called again, but again he simply continued on walking. She frowned slightly, and running ahead of him, blocked his path, breathing rapidly, finally making him stop. He was looking forward, not wanting to cast a single glance at her. Why would he? She was just toying with him; she was just like that bastard of a Pharaoh she was hanging with.

Tea was looking at him, seeing the way he was ignoring her. She dared to approach him again, standing a few feet away from him, thinking of a best way to say she was sorry.

"Bakura, please, I'm...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lie to you." She finally mustered a sentence, on which he only snorted, turning his head to the other side, stepping aside to avoid her, and headed down the street again. But she was persistent, and stepping aside as well, and blocking his path again, she put her hands on his chest, stopping him from moving. 

The touch of her hands sent something cursing trough his veins, something electrifying, and he stiffened, looking at her again. Tea made no attempt to remove her hands until he would listen to what she had to say.

She spotted that spark of confusion and fear in his eyes again, and she wondered why was he afraid of her.

"Bakura, I'm sorry, I really am. Please, forgive me for lying to you, but...why did you pretend, too? And why are you so afraid of me?" She asked silently, looking at him softly.

Her hands, together with her voice and her eyes made the storm in his body rise again, and he growled, feeling a sudden need to do something, or else he'd explode. Tea was looking at him, eyes full of concern and expectation, and he couldn't take it anymore. He pulled her hands away, roughly, leaning towards her, and glaring at her.

"What makes you think I'm afraid you, you little wench?"

He regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth. The look on her face was making that something clench in his chest again. She was staring at him in shock, eyes wide, and pain so clear in her eyes, tears welling up in them.

She just didn't understand; she wanted to help him, to apologize to him, she even admitted herself that she fell in love with him! And what does he do? He calls her a wench, looking at her with disgust and hatred. All she wanted to do was to apologize, but that wasn't really necessary now in her opinion. Her words were useless, and her attempts to get trough his walls were pushed away roughly. She felt her chest burning from the inside, she could see her vision blurring from the tears, and the next thing she knew, she was running down the street, away from him and away from his words and his glare. She didn't see the surprised look in his eyes when she turned away and started running, crying all the way.

Something seemed to shatter inside him, and Bakura felt the sudden pain curse trough his whole being, making his breaths ragged and his head spinning. He made her cry.

"Damn it!" He growled, and acting on an impulse and letting the feelings envelope him, he clenched his fists, giving himself a task to catch her.

Tea was running, just running with no sense of direction where; the only thing she wanted right now was to come home, crawl into her bed and cry the whole night. She was shaking, every breath coming out as a sob and every whisper coming out as a choke. 

"Stupid," she was mumbling, "you are so stupid!" She managed to choke out, angry with herself for letting him inside, and then being betrayed. It hurt, and she couldn't make that pain go away. It was coming from the inside, and she could do nothing but cry and sob, running wildly trough the streets. She spotted a road that lead to her house, and wanting nothing more than to cross it and run home, she stepped onto the concrete, not noticing the car approaching her. She wanted to go forward, but someone grabbed her from behind, yanked her from the street, and crushed her into a tight embrace. The car passed by, the sound of the siren, echoing trough the air, and the street was once again silent. Tea came to her senses when she felt a pair of strong hands circled around her waist and shoulders, and she raised her head to see who was holding her. A choked sound escaped her lips again, and she started pulling away, realizing that the person was the same person who caused the pain.

Bakura's eyes widened in horror when he saw her running straight in front of the car, and he managed to grab her and pull her away from it, the second before that car would've hit her. He held her tightly, breathing rapidly himself, still in shock that she could've died if he hadn't managed to save her in the last moment. But unfortunately, the girl realized who was holding her, and she started crying again, trying to pull herself away from him, trying to break free. But, this time, he had no intentions of letting her go.

Tea was desperately trying to break free, kicking his chest, screaming at him to let her go, but to no avail. He was stronger, and no matter how much she kicked and jerked, she couldn't break free.

"Calm down, damn it!" He growled, having enough of her kicking, but she was stubborn, and she bit his arm, teeth sinking into his flesh and he grimaced, sharp pain surging trough his arm, but he didn't let her go.

She was still trying to break free, until he has had enough, and with one swift motion, he managed to grab her wrists in an almost painful grip, pulling her to him.

And the next thing Tea knew, were Bakura's lips, pressed against hers.

**AN:**

**Well, there you go, it's not exactly a very fluffy situation, but it was...intense, right? ^_^;**

**Anyway, thanks for all your reviews, I never thought you'd like this story so much. And there are these ideas, popping up in my head about writing an AU fic, of course with Tea and Bakura in it as the main protagonists...but I don't know...I'll see. ^_~**

**Okay, so much from me for this chapter.**

**Bye now! *waves happily***

**A.S.A**


	7. Discussion

Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh...

**Out of the blue**

**Chapter VII – Discussion**

-by Alena S. Anigor

Two figures were standing in the middle of the Domino Park; their bodies close in an intimate position. It was dark, and they were barely visible, the moon being the only light illuminating them. The white – haired boy was holding the girl's wrists closely to his chest, kissing her almost hungrily now, while the girl's eyes were wide open, shock evident in her cerulean orbs.

Tea was definitely taken aback with this sudden situation. She couldn't even think properly, the sensations Bakura's lips were creating in her were too strong and too overwhelming for her to even react normally. Her body was tense, hands holding the material of his sweater, clenching it slightly. There was a swirling emotion, surging trough her body, making her limbs weak, and her mind clouded with something she could only describe as desire.

Bakura was kissing her...was he even aware of that? Was he aware of the fact that he was kissing _her_? 

After a while, she closed her eyes, feeling a sudden urge to just let go, and let him do what ever he wanted to do, but she was simply too surprised and too shocked to take that thought into consideration. 

Bakura could feel her body stiffening, her fingers clutching his sweater, her body pressed to his, but there was no response from her, what so ever. He himself couldn't comprehend what he was doing, except listening to his senses, which were telling him that the thing he was doing felt good; it felt right. But the girl remained still, not moving a muscle, and he felt a sudden fear striking him. Slowly, he opened his eyes to see her closed ones, and parted his lips from hers. The desire to press his lips against hers was still there, but he suppressed it, fear blocking his movements and making him stare at her in some kind of wonder.

Tea felt him move away from her, and she opened her eyes again; her eyes wide, locked with his dark ones. She almost shuddered at the amount of emotions in them, clouded with raw desire. Breathing rapidly, trying to catch some oxygen for her lungs, she was staring at him with equal shock and fear. 

They were standing now, apart from each other; eyes locked together, none of them daring to move. Tea noticed that he was still holding her wrists, and she made a move to pull them back. He let her hands slip away from his, a sudden flash of regret crossing his features. She didn't know what to do with them now that they weren't kept safe in his anymore, so she hugged herself in that protective manner, backing away from him a bit. He was still standing still, eyes following her like in a trans. 

Reaching her senses and gaining her equilibrium again, she was searching for words in her head that could try to explain what just happened.

She swallowed, hard, and looking him in the eyes, opened her mouth to speak.

"Why?" Was all that managed to pass her lips, and he stared at her, at loss of words. He took a step forward, and she backed away from him. His shoulders slumped slightly; she was afraid of him. He came to his senses now, too, and he frowned slightly, confused about her sudden behavior. What did she think? That he'd rape her or something?

The amount of feelings remained from the kiss was still there, creating something unusual in his chest, something warm, and welcome. He hadn't felt such emotion for a very long time, and now he wanted nothing else than to experience more of it. And that meant only one thing...

The girl in front of him was responsible for those sensations, and that meant that it was her who managed to break his walls in the end, and wake him up, release those bottled things he called worthless and useless before...

And he had no intention of letting her go now. She was his, and his only from now on.

Something flickered at the back of his dark orbs, as he reached for her hand, but she backed away from him again, shaking slightly and still hugging her arms, looking at him like he was about to do something terrible to her. He frowned, eyes clouded with hurt, when she took a step back. He sighed, knowing that it was too good to be true. She was still afraid of him, or she didn't trust him, but he'd make sure she would. Slowly, he let his hand fall to his side and lowered his head; spiky bangs shadowing his eyes. Tea expected him to launch at her or something, but she heard him take a deep breath, and wondered what was he up to.

"Why?" It was him who asked that question this time. Tea's brows knitted in confusion. What, no attack? No attempts to strangle her? She was looking at his face, blinking a few times.

"Why...what?" She asked, unconsciously rubbing her arms with her fingers.

Bakura half – raised his head, dark orbs revealed a bit under a mop of whitish hair. "Why are you afraid of me? Do you think I'd kill you after I just kissed you?" He replied, and Tea blushed slightly. The way he said that was just so...embarrassing for her. She shook her head a bit, trying to sort her thoughts and her own mixed feelings, and give him a straight answer.

"Well..." she started, lowering her gaze downward, looking at her shoes, "I'm not afraid, I'm just..." She stopped again, the last word a whisper.

"What?" He asked, looking intently at her, wanting to know the reason for her rejection and her fear. Tea was staring at a little leaf, lying on the concrete, squished and alone.

"I'm just..." She tried again, still not daring to look him in the eye, "I just don't know what to think anymore about all of this." She added, exhaling deeply, and shrugging absentmindedly. Bakura took a step forward again, hoping she wouldn't run away from him. She flinched slightly, but stayed where she was.

"What do you mean?" He asked, not quite sure what she meant with her reply. Tea looked at him, internal battle evident on her face. She sighed exasperatedly, and spread her arms forward.

"I mean...all this!" Her voice rose a bit, as if that explained the whole thing. Bakura was looking at her, almost helplessly, still not understanding a thing. She saw the way he was watching her, trying to comprehend, but failing. She sighed heavily, choosing her next words.

"I mean, when we met in the park the other night, you were acting like you were flirting with me. Then I have these weird dreams about you. Then I realize that I'm in love with you," on which Bakura's eyes widened slightly, "and then you call me a wench and then you kiss me! Does that make any sense to you, Bakura?" She was almost yelling now, arms spread in desperation away from her sides, and her face a mixture of anger and exasperation. Bakura was still staring at her, her words about her being in love with him still ringing in his ears. They were once again silent, standing in the middle of the same spot in the park, looking like two statues, lost and misplaced somewhere where they didn't belong.

Tea broke the intense silence with another sigh, letting her hands fall down to her sides, and shaking her head. Her eyes held a sad gaze, when she lowered her head, looking at his sweater, that was similar to the one Ryou was wearing. 

"This just...won't work." As soon the words escaped her lips, she was grabbed by her shoulders and she gasped when a strong pair of arms pulled her towards him, his eyes piercing her whole being.

"No." He growled firmly, as she was once again staring at him in fear. "No," he repeated again, shaking his head, "you will not leave me now when you managed to drag me this far!" His voice was more of a command, but the meaning behind them was clear to Tea. Tears gathered around the corners of her eyes, and she choked on a sob, completely lost, closing her eyes to shut him out. He loosened a grip on her slightly, deciding to play his cards, and reveal his deck completely. It was now or never, he thought, and raising her chin with his fingers, he leaned down, enough to meet her lips again. 

Tea's breath got caught in her throat when she felt something soft on her lips again. The feeling of electricity running trough her body surged trough her again, and this time, she had no choice but to give in. He sighed a breath of relief inwardly, when he felt her responding back. He pulled away softly, his face just a couple of inches away from her. She opened her eyes, tears still in them, but she seemed less frightened now, and that encouraged him to continue.

Steadying his breathing, he fixated his gaze firmly on her, holding her shoulders now, making almost nervous circles across them with his fingers.

"Will you be mine?" He asked, determination in his eyes, and fear of being rejected, mingled in one. Tea opened her mouth to say something, but the words stuck in her throat again. She felt something pull inside of her, something that threatened to buckle her knees and make her fall, but he was holding her tightly, and she started shivering. She didn't know if she was shivering from the coldness of the night or from his words. He was looking at her, eyes full of expectation and something she labeled as hope, waiting for an answer.

He was praying deep inside for her acceptance; he knew he played his game to the very end, and it all depended on her right now. The result was in her hands, in her eyes, in her words. If she says yes, the game is won, and he won the most precious thing in the whole world. And if she says no, the game is lost, and he knew his world would shatter, making him fall into the darkness again, making his feelings die once again.

It all depended on her; his everything.

Tea watched the fear mixing with hope in his eyes, and she couldn't help but smile at his expression. He looked like he could die every moment. She decided to spare him the trouble; she knew already how she felt about him, and now he knew it, too. Her smile widened, her tears gone, and she nodded, relaxing in his arms.

She barely had time to blink when he let out a sound of relief, and pressed his lips against her, almost leaving her breathless. The kiss became more heated by every second, and Tea had to pull away to breath in some air. Her face was flushed, her eyes slightly wide; the passion and hunger for more evident in his half – lidded eyes. Tea had to push him away gently, gaining her composure after a tornado called Yami Bakura, and smiled a bit, still blushing madly.

He raised a questioning brow when she pushed him away, and then smiled at him. It was funny the way she looked so flustered and almost embarrassed. She looked around them, then at her watch, and almost gasped when she saw how long they'd been standing in this park. She looked almost regretfully at him, and he smirked, satisfied with the effect he caused in her.

"I, uhm, have to go." She spluttered, and fidgeting slightly, turned around to leave.

"I'll walk you home." Bakura offered and she smiled at him, feeling suddenly so relieved and free of the burden she was holding deep inside. She started walking, him putting his hands in his pockets. She braced her hand around his, blushing a bit when he smirked. It felt a bit awkward, but she didn't mind.

Bakura walked her to her house, and she stopped in front of the door, turning around to look at him. He was standing in front of her, a few steps below, watching her intently. She wanted to say something but didn't know what exactly, so she only smiled softly.

"Good night, Bakura. Thanks for walking me home." She said, putting the key in the lock. He turned his head aside a bit, wondering why was she still acting so jumpy, but managed to crack a small smile, and she opened the door, and disappeared inside, closing them behind.

She leaned on them when she closed them, blushing, and let out a giggle, still not believing what happened between her and Bakura. She sighed contently, brushing a finger across her lips, and then deciding to take a bath. It was, after all, a very interesting afternoon.

Bakura was watching the doors of her house for a while, before finally letting out a breath of relief. As odd as it seemed to him, the girl was his now, and if someone even laid an eye on her, he'd pay dearly. Hearing a growling sound coming from his stomach, he remembered that he hadn't eaten the whole day. He turned around and headed straight home, wondering if that sandwich he was making was still waiting for him. If it wasn't, someone will have a lot of explaining to do...

Not noticing the figure behind a tree, he turned around the corner, and disappeared. The figure stepped out from the shadows, revealing a tall boy, with brown hair and eyes.

Tristan was staring in wonder at first, not wanting to believe that Tea was walking with Bakura and holding his hand on top of that. He decided to follow them, just to make sure that he was seeing right. And he was – the ancient tomb robber walked her home, and then left. The whole thing was fishy to Tristan, and he suddenly had the strange feeling that Tea had definitely something to do with him. Or was it the other way around? 

Tristan's brain suddenly froze when a possible solution dawned on him...

What if Bakura managed to do something to her, just like he tried to trick them before, and now he was using her to get back at all of them? 

Tristan frowned; something had to be done about it, and first thing tomorrow, Yuugi and Yami will have to hear about this...

**AN:**

**Oh, wow! Over 50 reviews! Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are the greatest! I know I like to put a cliffhanger at the end of the chapter, but little suspense can't harm you...don't kill me... ^_^;**

**Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, I'll try to update as soon as possible, but it might take a while due to the upcoming exams...*shudders* **

**Okay, it's your turn now; send me your reviews, comments, what ever comes to you!**

**Oh, and **reenas_as** – I'm glad I could help you. ^_^**

**Till next time,**

**Bye people!**

**A.S.A**


	8. Issues

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh...*sings*

**Out of the blue**

**Chapter VIII – Issues**

-by Alena S. Anigor

Monday came rather quickly, or so it seemed to a brown haired girl, who was currently staring at her own reflection in the mirror, and seeing one happy and grinning girl staring back. She giggled slightly – she felt so stupid for giggling like that, but she couldn't help herself. That feeling, as if she was walking on clouds, and floating a few feet above the ground was there since she came home last night. She still remembered the way Bakura kissed her, and she giggled again, shaking her head and telling herself to quit the nonsense and get ready for school.

She woke up earlier this morning, and she had enough time to make herself a breakfast. She was chewing on a piece of toast, wondering briefly why her parents hadn't called yet. And then, as if on cue, the thought of Yuugi Mutou came to her mind, and she swallowed hard, suddenly feeling extremely guilty. 

"Oh, no..." She muttered, realization dawning on her like someone just hit her with a hammer. Yuugi doesn't know...Joey, Tristan...nobody knows about them! She wondered for a moment if Bakura told Ryou about last night, but she doubted that he told him anything. She moaned, covering her forehead with her hand, and lowering her head to stare at the table surface. That was bad...that was really bad. She could already imagine Joey and Tristan staring at her wide – eyed, and she could imagine Yuugi staring in disbelief, and Yami...he'd probably think it was one of Bakura's tricks, and there was no doubt that would cause trouble for both of them.

But, how was she supposed to tell them that she was dating Yami Bakura? She knew for sure that none of them would approve that, especially Yami.

Tea moaned again, lowering her head to the table, and leaning her forehead on it. 

"This will be another great day for Tea Gardner." She sighed exasperatedly.

"They were doing WHAT?!" Joey Wheeler's voice was heard from the school entrance. He was staring at Tristan, his eyes threatening to fall out of their sockets. Yuugi was left wide – eyed, mouth agape in disbelief. Yami was simply frowning, his lips a thin line. He crossed his arms, standing aside from Yuugi, and listening to the taller boy in front of them.

Tristan nodded, frowning as well.

"Just like I told you, they were walking down the park together, holding hands, and then Bakura walked her home, and then left." He repeated his previous words, looking at every one of them with worried expression. "I didn't want to believe it myself, and I thought I was seeing things, but...I wasn't. Tea was definitely walking home with Bakura, holding his hand." He added, crossing his hands on his chest.

Joey's eye twitched slightly, and he gritted his teeth.

"That...that bastard!", he spat, twisting the sleeves of his jacket upwards, "I oughta-"

"Wait, Joey!" Yuugi interrupted him, looking behind them both, and pointing slightly at a brown haired girl who was walking towards them, holding her schoolbag.

Tea noticed the way they all turned to look at her, and she almost stopped in mid – step, when she noticed the way they were staring at her. All of them, besides Yuugi, who looked somewhat concerned and hurt, were frowning, eyeing her warily. She could see Yami, standing slightly away from Yuugi, looking at her like she committed a terrible crime. She gulped, wondering just what, and how much they knew.

She approached them, trying to stay calm and composed, but that was hard, due to the fact that they were looking at her like she was an outcast of society. 

"H-hey, guys, what's up?" She asked, kind of timidly, and cringed inwardly, when Tristan turned his head away, and Joey was staring at her so intently, that she felt like he was about to burn holes trough her. She turned to look at Yuugi, who was looking at her with so much hurt and pain in his eyes, that she had to gasp. Yami was looking equally angry, resembling Joey.

'Oh, God,' she thought, not wanting to look at them anymore, 'they know!'

"Maybe we should ask _you_ that question, Tea." Joey managed to break the uncomfortable silence, uttering the words so coldly, that she almost flinched. 

"Yeah, Tea, would you care to explain what you were doing with Bakura yesterday in the park, and why were you holding his hand?" Tristan asked, in equally chilly voice. 

Tea was lost, not knowing what to do or what to say. Her head started to hurt, pain burning inside, and she shook her head a bit to stop it.

"Tea?" The soft voice, and concerned, violet eyes were looking at her from below, and she swallowed, tears welling up in her eyes. Yuugi wanted to say something, wanted to ask her why, but he couldn't. He lost the ability to speak normally, the moment he heard the news Tristan brought them.

Tea shook her head, tears falling down her cheeks freely now, and she let the schoolbag fall to the ground, hugging the smaller boy tightly, and crying her heart out.  

Tristan and Joey were at loss of words when she suddenly grabbed Yuugi in a tight embrace, and started crying. Involuntarily, the boy's expressions softened, and now they were both sorry for yelling at her like that, and making her cry. Yami's expression, however, stayed the same, and he was still eyeing the girl, frowning, but lost in his own thoughts for some time already.

"I'm sorry..." Tea was sobbing, choking on each and every word she managed to utter, "I'm so, so sorry..." she repeated, gripping Yuugi's shirt, tightly, while the smaller boy was shocked, staring with wide eyes at the girl who was holding him so tightly, he thought she might choke him. His reflexes were still for some time, before he hugged her back, stroking her hair in a comforting manner, pain, sorrow, hurt and something else he couldn't define, flowing trough him.

"It's okay, please Tea, don't cry." He whispered, trying to calm her down, hating to see her cry, and lying so helplessly on her knees.

An occasional sob was still heard when Tea finally stood up after minutes of crying, and straightened her school uniform. Joey and Tristan muttered both their apologies, and Tristan signaled to Joey to go and leave them alone. The boys were gone, leaving one miserably looking girl, one frowning Yami and his worried hikari behind. Tea wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and lifted her schoolbag from the ground. She dusted it off a bit, sniffling a bit, when Yuugi offered her a handkerchief. 

She thanked him, mustering a slight smile. She looked at the taller spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, who still had his arms crossed, his facial expression lost in thoughts. 

"Yami?" She asked softly, and he looked her in the eyes, suddenly aware that he wasn't paying attention the last couple of minutes. His face softened a bit, but just a bit. Tea lowered her head, staring at her feet now.

"Maybe I should go now..." Yuugi hesitantly spoke, and turned away from them to leave. He trailed off to the school doors, leaving only Tea and Yami behind. She was fidgeting slightly now, becoming nervous and feeling awfully uncomfortable, uneasily silence falling between them again.

"I'm sorry, I..." She started, but then stopped, not knowing how to continue. She could almost feel the questioning gaze of the ancient Pharaoh, trying to see trough her. 

Yami sighed, and then uncrossing his arms, headed towards school to catch up with Yuugi.

"You have to go to school now. We'll talk later." He replied calmly, and then started walking away from her. Tea blinked several times, until hearing the school bell, and almost yelping, started running after him.

None of them was really concentrated on their classes during the whole day at school. Tea was looking sad and miserable just the way she felt, Joey and Tristan were casting casual glances in her direction, but at least they weren't so cold anymore, or so Tea hoped. Only Yuugi seemed totally lost and oblivious to everything around him. The thought of Tea and Bakura holding hands was sending such pain and grief trough his chest that it hurt. There was also something else, mixed with those aching feelings, but he couldn't quite distinguish it from the other ones, until he imagined Tea and Bakura together, laughing and smiling to each other.  

The little boy with a Millennium Puzzle hanging on a chain around his neck, suddenly realized what he was feeling the whole time. He raised his head, and looked at the girl, sitting by his desk, solemnly staring at her notebook. He flinched suddenly, and then averted his eyes from her. He swallowed a huge lump in his throat, and sighed when he heard a voice from his yami.

"_You are jealous, aren't you?_" He asked mentally, and Yuugi sighed inwardly again.

_"Is it so easy to tell?_"

_"To me it is, I know you too well already. You're forgetting that we're connected."_ Yami replied, smiling softly at the smaller boy, who was sitting at his desk, battling his own emotions. Yuugi smiled back a bit, and then his face darkened again.

_"What am I supposed to do? If he hurts her, then I'll-"_

_"You can't do anything against her will, Yuugi,"_, the spirit noticed, and then fell silent for a while, until speaking again, _"but I must agree that I don't like the idea either. I think you should talk to her, Yuugi. Tell her what you really feel."_ He added, and Yuugi shook his head slightly. 

_"No, I-I really don't know, I-"_

_"Tell her."_ Was heard from the ancient Pharaoh and then he broke the connection, leaving Yuugi to cope with his thoughts on his own. 

He looked at Tea again, and his heart almost clenched when he saw how crestfallen she looked like. Yami was right; he'd really have to talk to her. He didn't like the thought of her meddling with Bakura...and maybe...maybe he should tell her how he felt about her. Then maybe, she'd dismiss the thought of being with Bakura and...

Yuugi sighed inwardly again. He knew how he felt about her, but what about her feelings? The way she acted towards him...No, she didn't feel that way about him...

But, he just couldn't bear the thought of something happening to her, and being with Bakura, that something just might happen in the end. He didn't want to risk that much, no – he didn't want to loose the only person he cared about so much.

And in that same moment, Yuugi Mutou made a decision.

Joey and Tristan said their goodbyes and went home, turning every once in a while to look at Tea and Yuugi, standing by the school gate.

They were worried, probably as much as Yuugi was, but Tristan decided to leave them alone to deal with their problems, and literally had to drag Joey away. He was already prepared to show Bakura one of his fists, but Tristan managed to stop him on time and drag him away.

Standing in front of the gate, Tea was looking uneasily at one of her best friends, and shifting every now and then. The smaller boy was looking at his feet for a while, until he raised his head, and looked at her with such determination in his eyes that Tea had to stop fidgeting. The look in his eyes reminded her of the same look Yami had when he was dueling.

"Yuugi?" She said, looking at him with questioning gaze, wondering what was he up to.

"Tea, I have to...we have to talk." He said suddenly, and she nodded slowly, already knowing what the conversation is going to be about.

"And I have to tell you something." He added, eyes lowering slightly again. Tea let out a soft sigh, and nodded again. Yuugi raised his eyes to look at her, that same determination again evident in them. Tea braced herself for the upcoming conversation, already trying to come up with good explanations for holding Bakura's hand. She knew he'd have _everything _against it, but she was also determined to defend her relationship with Bakura.

Yuugi took a deep breath, getting ready to say what he had in mind. Yami was right; he had to try and tell her, because only then he'd know what she really felt about him.

'This is it,' he thought, 'now is the time to tell her how I feel.'

**AN:**

**I passed that damn exam! Woohoo! *jumps up and down***

**Anyway... – yeah, I know – another cliffhanger, but I just can't help myself! ^_^;**

**And thank you so much for reviewing and liking my story, you're really a great support!**

**Also, I've noticed that lots of people ask about _AU_ term...Well, okay, let's clear this out, then:**

**AU means Alternate Universe – basically, it's a story with the same characters (more or less), but the story doesn't necessarily follow the anime, which means – you can put the Yu-Gi-Oh cast in any other timeline, or place and create a story of your own. For example – you can make Yuugi and Yami brothers; make Tea and Bakura never know each other, etc.**

**I hope you understood, I'm not quite good with term explanations...^_^;**

**Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, maybe it sucked a bit, but I was really on the edge with this exam and I really couldn't think properly. O.o**

**Right, till next time,**

**Bye!**

**A.S.A**


	9. Shattered

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh...*walks around like a zombie*

**Out of the blue**

**Chapter IX – Shattered **

-by Alena S. Anigor

The streetlamps flashed, illuminating already the dark streets of the Domino City. The moon could be seen from the clear sky, shades of dark blue and black mingled on the horizon. The particular spot in front of the school entrance was empty, except for the two figures, standing across each other, none of them uttering a single word.

Tea was puzzled slightly by this strange behavior from the smaller boy in front of her. He seemed in deep thoughts, and she had seen him in that kind of state, only when he was very concerned about someone or something. His demeanor started to worry her also, although she knew the reason for his worried state. She sighed inwardly, still not coming up with a good explanation for dating Yami Bakura. Surely, it sounded completely insane – to date a former tomb robber, a collector of ancient Millennium Items, and a person who tried to hurt them so many times. But he has changed somehow, and he didn't seem so mean and evil anymore. Of course, he was still a bit mean to Ryou, but...she was sure she could change that, too.

Yuugi, on the other hand, had his mind full of words and questions, but somehow, they didn't want to articulate themselves. He was staring helplessly at his feet, holding the straps of his backpack steadily, desperately trying to say something that would sound reasonable, but not harsh. He sighed suddenly, catching the attention of the girl across him, and she looked at him, hoping he'd say what he wanted to say quickly, because it was getting pretty cold.

"Tea...", he started, raising his head, and violet orbs met cerulean. Tea felt something twist in her chest when she saw how pained his eyes seemed. He looked so lost, like he'd break every second and crumble down to the ground. 

"I...well...", he took a deep breath and decided to end this dilemma of his, once and for all, "I'd like to know if you...do you...do you really like Yami Bakura?" He ended his words, almost choking on them, barely gathering the strength to say them out loud. He looked at the girl who was standing in front of him, one hand holding her chest, and looking at him, something similar to fear shining in her eyes.

He waited for her answer, hoping she'd say no, but the girl lowered her head, brownish bangs covering her bright eyes and nodded slightly, almost regretfully. 

Tea knew there was no point in lying anymore; they already knew, he already knew, and lying to him would only make things even worse. She didn't, however understand why was he looking so crestfallen, his face now pale, his eyes almost dead... She swallowed, hard, a sudden feeling of guilt and pain rushing trough her, and she felt something wet falling down her cheek again. She was crying, she figured. 

Everything inside Yuugi seemed to break, fall apart and shatter in thousands of pieces. Just like the puzzle he was wearing around his neck that could fall apart, that was the way his heart felt at the moment. His eyes were directed forward, staring at some imaginary thing, visible only to him, as the painful truth ran trough his mind, registering her answer to his question, and then whispering silently to him that it was over. That it was finally over.

Tea couldn't stare at her feet anymore; she had to raise her head to see if the boy in front of her was still alive. She almost let out a gasp, when she saw just how much sorrow and darkness his eyes held. She wanted nothing more than to hug him and tell him how sorry she was, but she was truly afraid that he'd break apart, and disappear in the cloud of dust. So, instead, she dared to take a step forward, wanting to know why her answer had such an effect on him. It hurt her, too, to see him like that; one of her best friends, who saved her so many times already.

"Yuugi?" She asked him, almost in a whisper, but he made no attempt to move or reply her. She took a deep breath, and lowering her body to his level, she stared at his violet orbs, so lost and empty now, that it made her shudder.

"Yuugi, please, tell me...why...why are you so..." She uttered, feeling horrible just by looking at him like that. He shook his head slightly, some color returning back to his features, his senses also coming back. He shook his head again, still looking at his feet.

"Doesn't matter anymore." He whispered, barely audible for her to hear. She was crying freely now, tears running down her cheeks, eyes full of concern and worry. She sniffled and that seemed to bring him back from his primary shock, and he looked at her, eyes wide in confusion.

"Tea, don't cry!" He exclaimed suddenly, spreading his hands to try and stop her from shedding her tears. He looked like his old self; a little boy, looking at her with concerned eyes, trying to help her as much as he could. That brought her only more sorrow, and she smiled, in spite her tears. He managed to smile back a bit, and she hugged him, second time today, holding him tightly, sobbing on his shoulder, and making his shirt wet. He patted her on the back, trying not to cry himself.

"Why?" Tea asked after a while, still leaned on his shoulder, and he released her, turning to look her in confusion. That same painful gleam in his eyes remained, but he tried to hide it with all his might.

"Why what, Tea?" He asked, now really curious and confused. She ruffled his hear slightly, and smiled sadly.

"Why...did I hurt you so much?" She asked hesitantly, and he opened his mouth to speak, words stuck in his throat. After some thinking, he only smiled, shaking his head defiantly, and putting his hands on her shoulder, he asked her his final question, his only concern related to her and Yami Bakura.

"Are you happy, Tea?" He asked, surprising her with his sudden change in behavior, and she blinked, not comprehending for a while why was he asking her that. Then she realized that he meant her and Bakura, and she smiled a bit, nodding her head yes, and although she could see a faint flicker of hurt in his eyes, he smiled, and nodded back.

"Then, I'm happy for you, too." He replied sternly, sighing inwardly, and she hugged him again so suddenly that they almost fell down to the ground.

"Yuugi!" She cried out, hugging him so firmly, happiness and relief flowing trough her heart, and he hugged her back, smiling softly, glad that she was happy. When he thought about it, it didn't matter she wasn't with him, as much as he wanted that...She was happy, and that mattered to him the most. And as long as she was happy, he would be happy for her, too.

He didn't want to deny his feelings anymore – he knew that it still hurt him, that she would never see him as anything more than a good friend, but as long as she was still with him, helping him and laughing with him, he was satisfied. He only hoped Bakura managed to realize what he had, he thought bitterly, and secretly swore to himself that he won't let him hurt her. And if he was about to hurt her...then he would be there to offer her his support and his friendship.

'Yes', he said to himself, hugging the girl firmly in his arms, 'we are friends, no matter what.'

After what seemed like hours to him, she finally released him, and wiping the tears from her eyes, she smiled at him warmly, crystal blue eyes full of happiness and relief. He smiled back, and she stood up, dusting herself off, and straightened her clothes, putting a few strands of loose hair back to its place.

She sighed, reaching for her school bag, and turned around to look at him; her best friend in the whole world. And although she had a nagging feeling she was forgetting something about him, that he still had something to tell her, she put it aside, forgetting all about her tears and pain. He seemed relaxed and his usual self, too, and she was glad she managed to sort things out with him. The only problem, were Tristan and Joey now, and she still had no idea how Yami would react to the whole thing.

They started walking home, silent for a while, until Tea wanted to know where the spirit of the ancient Pharaoh was.

"Uhm, Yuugi, where's Yami?" She asked, and his face grimaced a bit, when she mentioned his yami, who probably won't be very happy when he'd hear about this.

"He's at home." He replied, uneasiness starting to get to him, now. Tea let out a silent 'oh', and then fell silent again, wondering how could she explain her relationship with Bakura to him.

Yuugi was also rambling his own theories in his head, trying to come up with a good explanation for letting Tea date Bakura without telling her how he really felt. There was no doubt Yami wouldn't like that. They were walking trough the park now, when they noticed someone approaching them. Yuugi stopped walking, eyes widening slightly in faint fear, and Tea smiled a bit, noticing the ancient tomb robber coming their way.

He had his mask on, which meant – he was frowning, and looking ready to kill any second. Yuugi gulped, wondering if he should turn and leave the other way, or do something else that he'd might regret later. Bakura stopped walking, too. He was getting slightly worried, when Ryou came home from school, and he saw those clowns named Joey Wheeler and Tristan Taylor walking home, too. He couldn't see Tea anywhere, and since there was also no sign of Yuugi or Yami, he became slightly irritated. He didn't like the thought of those two interacting too much, and he went out, determined to find that girl. She was, after all, his now, and if anyone dares to touch her, he could look forward to landing in the other dimension.

Walking down the street that lead trough the park, he noticed her, walking home. He was about to say something, when he noticed someone else walking beside her, and that someone happened to be Yuugi Mutou. That pale version of that damn Pharaoh was smiling at her, and he could already feel his blood boiling inside him. He frowned, menacing gleam crossing his eyes, and then stopped, waiting for them to notice him. 

Yuugi was the first to acknowledge his presence, and Bakura smirked mentally when he saw just how the little boy reacted – his eyes widened in fear. Then it was Tea's turn to notice him, and she smiled softly, on which he almost smiled back...almost.

He eyed the boy suspiciously, already forming all sorts of questions in his head to ask him, what exactly was he doing with _his _woman.

Tea turned to look at her smaller friend, and almost chuckled when she saw how frightened he was of him. She took him by the hand, and started to drag him towards Bakura, who only frowned some more. Yuugi started mumbling something about going the other way and leaving them alone, but Tea was persistent, and she didn't let him go. Almost putting him like a stuffed teddy bear in front of Bakura, he smiled nervously, daring to look in a pair of dark orbs, looking at him threateningly. 

Yuugi gulped audibly, wondering why was he looking at him like that; he did nothing wrong...did he?

Tea was silent, watching the boys looking at each other; the smaller version of Pharaoh backing away slightly, and the ancient tomb robber glaring at him from above. She giggled silently, wondering if she could ever make those two stand each other. Well, she knew Yuugi would like to make friends with Bakura, but it would be very hard to do it the other way around. 

Finally, deciding to break the charade, she sighed, and turned to look at Bakura, who crossed his hands, still glaring at Yuugi.

"Well...would you two say something already?" She asked exasperatedly, determined to break the tension and hostility between them.

The corner of Yuugi's mouth twitched slightly, and he smiled nervously again, waving a shaky hand to Bakura.

"H-hi Bakura, uhm...how are you?" He managed to mutter, on which the tomb robber snorted loudly, and leaned down, making the smaller boy back away again.

"Tell that damn yami of yours to stay away from her." He growled deeply, and Tea's face faulted.

"Bakura!" She yelled, expecting something else to hear from him. Yuugi shrank back slightly, wanting nothing more than to go home already.

"What?" He asked her, not even looking at her. She frowned; as much as she liked Bakura, she also liked her friends, and she didn't want to end it this way.

She let out an exasperated sigh, and put her hands on her waist.

"I talked to Yuugi about us tonight, and he is fine with it, you know!" She said, raising her voice a bit. Bakura raised an eyebrow, glaring at Yuugi suspiciously.

"Oh, is he?" He asked the smaller boy, and he nodded slowly, somehow recovered from the previous shock Bakura gave him. Bakura frowned again.

"Maybe that what you say is true", he said, leaning back, not moving his eyes from him, "but what about others?" He added, crossing his hands again. Tea decided to jump in.

"I'll talk to them, and Yuugi will talk to them, they'll understand, I'm sure." She replied, and Bakura snorted. She sighed, approaching him, and taking his hand in hers. Yuugi's mouth opened in astonishment when he noticed the sudden change in the tomb robber in front of him; he looked at her, eyes full of wonder and deep, hidden feelings, Yuugi managed to recognize for a brief moment. He realized Tea was right; he really felt something for her, and he realized that he has no longer the right to try and separate them. Tea was happy, she said it herself, and the look in Bakura's eyes was enough to convince him that he wasn't trying to play a trick on them. He stood up slowly, pushing his anguish and hurt somewhere deep below, and deciding to do anything to help them.

Bakura averted his gaze from the girl in front of him, and at the boy, turning to leave.

"You", he growled, "where are you going?" deep and raspy voice stopping him from walking. He turned to look at them, noticing that same frown on his face, but it seemed to be less menacing. 

'I guess she really means a lot to him.' He commented mentally, and then turned around completely, facial expression serious and meaningful.

"I will talk to Yami, and I will talk to others. I see...that you two really belong to each other." He said, smiling softly, trying to smother those feelings of angst welling up in him once again. Tea was left speechless, while Bakura knitted his brows in confusion.

Yuugi then waved his hand goodbye, and headed down the street, steps echoing trough the cold night.

"Oh, Yuugi..." Tea whispered, and caught the attention of her significant other. He looked at her, a flash of jealousy crossing his eyes, but she only shook her head, kissing him on the cheek.

She took his other hand, and raising them a bit, she looked him in the eyes, aware of his jealousy and possessiveness. 

"Bakura..." She started, and he directed his eyes from his hands to her eyes, getting lost in them, her eyes warm and soft. 

"You have to realize that I'm with _you_ now...not with Yuugi, not with Yami, not with anyone else, except you", she started, enveloping his fingers with her hand, "but you also have to understand that they are my friends, that I know them for a very long time now, and that they're very precious to me." She smiled slightly, feeling awkward for acting like an old granny, sharing her words of wisdom with her grandchild.

He hadn't moved a bit, his eyes still transfixed on hers, and she sighed, hoping he would manage to understand one day what her friends meant to her.

"I know that you don't like Yami, and that you're not quite fond of Yuugi, either, but..." she stopped, choosing her next words carefully, "they are my friends and I can't just neglect them like that. We've been trough a lot, and although I love them very much, you should also never doubt my love for you." She said, closing her eyes, exhaling deeply in relief.

She opened them a second later to look at him staring at her like she was some kind of world wonder. She was waiting patiently for his reply, waiting for him to say something, to say that he understood. After what seemed like an eternity to her, he let out a soft breath, lowering his head to stare at their hands, fingers intertwined.

He couldn't believe what an effect she had on him; with a simple gesture and a few words, she managed to move something inside of him, and he was left wondering what to do now. Her friends were never a concern of his...but then again, she also wasn't much of a concern to him as well, and now...now he felt like he could die or kill for her. 

He was thinking, eyes lowered and covered with his bangs, and she waited patiently. It was funny how she was cold just a minute ago, and now she felt so warm and secure.

Bakura hated tough decisions; he acted upon his impulses, and now, he felt like someone put him in the middle of the crossroad, and gave him a task to decide which way to go. And he was dwelling, totally confused for not being able to make the right decision.

To accept her friends...to accept the Pharaoh? The thought seemed so absurd to him that he almost snorted out loud, if there wasn't for her, looking at him with pleading eyes.

'Damn it', he thought, 'I don't even care that much for them...and I certainly wouldn't even bother to care about those filthy mortals and the bastard called Yami.' But then again, here he was, holding the hands of one of those filthy mortals, and wanting nothing more than to have her for himself only...

After a couple of minutes spent in silence, he finally sighed, and gritting his teeth, he raised his hand to look at Tea, who raised her eyebrows in questioning manner.

"I'll...I'll _try_ to be...n-nice to them..." He managed to spat out, and Tea hugged him with a speed of light, almost making him loose his balance, "but if that damn Pharaoh tries _anything_, I won't hesitate to kill him!" He added quickly, and Tea giggled.

"I'm sure we'll try to keep that away from happening." She commented, and he growled slightly. Then, she remembered something and leaned back to look at him again.

"Uhm, aren't you forgetting someone?" She asked, smiling softly at him, and making him frown in confusion again. 

"Like who?" He asked her, already dreading the thought of making more _friends._ Tea took one of the strands of silvery hair in her hand, twirling it around her finger.

"Someone who has equally beautiful hair like you have." She replied, almost mysteriously, and he growled, when he realized whom she was talking about. Tea kissed his cheek again, making him want more, and he leaned down to kiss her on the lips, but she pulled away slightly, giggling at him teasingly.

"Promise me you'll be nicer to Ryou." She said, an ultimatum spoken. He snorted, commenting something about a spineless wimp. She smiled, but kept her defiant gaze. He growled, and pulling her back to him, kissed her on the lips, stopping her from giggling.

'Just one more thing', she said to herself, her mind creating images of the ancient Pharaoh in her head, the faces of her friends and a little boy named Yuugi Mutou.

And as Bakura was kissing her hungrily, increasing the passion between them, she thought about them all being friends one more time, before putting her hands behind his neck, and letting the sensations envelope her.

**AN:**

***a very long sigh***

**Well, took me a while to finish this chapter, and I just rewrote it again, correcting some mistakes I've made...**

**Also, I've noticed (according to reviews) that the last chapter confused lots of you people...I hope I managed to clear some things out in this one...**

**Well, I must say that I'm pretty tired, and sleepy, and that's it's past 11 pm here now, and that I want to go to bed...**

**So, till next time,**

**Good night!**

**A.S.A**


	10. What matters

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh... so don't get any illusions...

**Out of the blue**

**Chapter X – What matters**

-by Alena S. Anigor

It was getting really cold, as the smaller boy noticed, pulling his backpack upwards a bit to ease the numbness in his back. He couldn't wait to come home, but he also dreaded the thought and the upcoming conversation with his yami, who no doubt, wouldn't be very pleased to hear what happened in the end between him and Tea...and Yami Bakura, who surprisingly enough, decided to be civil, not trying to kill him.

He sighed inwardly; maybe he did a mistake letting her go just like that, without knowing what he felt for her...but what was he to do anyway? It was evident in every sparkle of her cerulean orbs that she held nothing for him in her heart except pure friendship...he was like a little brother she was looking after constantly, and for a moment he even felt like he was equal to Mokuba, the younger brother of Seto Kaiba, and he shuddered at the thought of the cold and distant CEO.

Spotting the familiar looking house in front of him, he sighed out loud this time, mentally preparing himself for the discussion with his yami. The lights were on, and he took the last intake of deep breath, and opening the doors, stepped inside. But as soon as he set his foot inside the house, he was left wide- eyed, gaping at the amount of people, waiting for him downstairs in the Game shop. He could see the questioning looks of every single one of them, waiting for him to say or do something.

He scanned the room, eyes flying from his grandfather, who only sweatdropped slightly, across Joey and Tristan, and finally averting his eyes to see Serenity, Mai and Ryou standing on the opposite side of the room. Ishizu was standing behind Mai, looking at him with something similar to amusement, while Yami was standing far behind, in the corner with his arms crossed, and his face serious and almost stoic.

It took a while for Yuugi to comprehend that those people were still staring at him, and he closed the doors slowly, edges of his mouth curling into an uncomfortable smile.

"Uhm, hi...what are you...all doing here?" He asked after the shock subsided, looking at his grandfather first, who only shrugged innocently.

"Well, waiting for you, what else?" Mai replied, grinning at him. Joey and Tristan nodded, and Ryou raised his eyebrows at him.

"I was told to come here, because you had something important to tell me." He said in his polite manner, soft brown eyes looking at him in confusion, and Yuugi wondered briefly how could such a nice boy have such a terrifying counterpart as his yami. But, his question dawned on him, and he lowered his head, not knowing how to begin.

"Okay, I see I'll have to take matter into my own hands." Mai said in a almost bossy manner, and put her hands on her hips. "Right, so...as I've heard from Joey and Tristan", on which the two boys grimaced slightly, "apparently, Tea is dating Yami Bakura." She finished, and the boy next to her almost fell flat on his face.

"What?!" He almost shrieked, and Mai backed away a bit to save her hearing. She grinned, non - the less at him, and nodded.

"That's right, you heard me – Tea and your yami are dating." She replied coolly, and Ryou gaped at her for a full minute, until he finally averted his eyes to the boy in front of him, asking him for any kind of confirmation. Yuugi was still staring at the floor, that same anguish and pain threatening to eat him alive.

"Yuugi? Is that...true? Tea and Bakura are really dating?" Ryou dared to ask after a significant pause, still not believing Mai's words. Yuugi's shoulders shook almost unnoticeably, but Yami still managed to see it. After a while he nodded mutely, not prying his stare from the floor the whole time.

Ryou was speechless after his confirmation, and Serenity raised her eyebrows in wonder.

"I never thought those two would end up together." She commented, on which Joey snorted. Mai looked at him, eyes glistening with mockery.

"Are you jealous, Joey?" She almost cooed, and he growled, sending death glares in her direction.

Ishizu turned to look at Yami, who was looking at his hikari intently, obviously aware of the fact that it hurt him. She turned her head again to look at the little boy and realized she was right; she could practically feel hurt oozing from him.

Tristan decided to break the charade, and clenching his fist, he turned to his smaller friend.

"And, what did you so? Are they still...dating or what?" he asked, the word 'date' and imaging Tea and Bakura with it, was awkward to him.

Yuugi choked down on a sob, deciding not to cry; after all he had promised them to do anything to help them, and that was what he had to do right now. Swallowing all his pain and anguish down once again, he raised his head, eyes full of seriousness and something that looked like determination, if there wasn't for the slightest flicker of doubt in them.

"I want you to listen to me...Yami, you especially." The smaller boy said, turning his attention to the corner of the room where his yami was leaning on the wall now, slightly raising his eyebrow in attention.

Yuugi took a deep breath, and then exhaled; he had to do that, he promised, and he didn't want to break that promise, not for Bakura necessarily, bur for Tea. If she was happy, then she deserved to stay happy.

"Yes, Tea and Yami Bakura are together." He spoke, his expression so tense that everyone was left speechless.

"And Tea...they are happy, so please...except that." He said finally, forcing himself to breath and to stay composed. Yami frowned; he didn't like the way his words sounded, and that meant only one thing in his opinion.

"Then I suppose...you didn't tell her?" He asked, leaving the support of the wall to stand straight. Yuugi was looking at him, trying not to crumble under his, almost accusing gaze, and shook his head no. Yami let out an exasperated sigh the moment he shook his head.

"Why?" He asked, his voice rising a bit, but deep enough to vibrate with authority just like the Pharaoh should sound. Yuugi was starting to feel lost now. He felt like he was crucified and unable to move anything, from his limbs, to his voice.

He only shook his head again. "Because they're happy!" He cried out, surprising everyone in the room with the intensity of his voice and his expression. Serenity put a hand on her mouth, when she noticed tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. Joey and Tristan were silent, Mai and Ryou were staring at him perplexed, Ishizu being aware of the upcoming verbal battle between them. Solomon was equally surprised to see him in such a state. But the most surprised person was definitely Yami. He was truly taken aback with the sudden outburst from the smaller boy in front of him, and with the strength and weakness in his eyes at the same time.

Yuugi was crying now, tears falling freely down his face, and he choked on his next words.

"They are happy, Yami...accept that, like I have. There is no other way...I wanted...", he whispered, loosing the strength in his legs and knelt down, hands falling on the floor in front of him, "I wanted to tell her, to stop that, but I couldn't...you didn't see the way she looked like," he sniffled, as Mai knelt beside him and hugged him firmly. Yami's eyes were wide open in shock and disbelief; he didn't expect to see him spilling out so many emotions out of him, and he stared at him, at the loss of his own words. He lowered his head slightly then disappeared from the room, leaving them alone with the sobbing boy in front of them. 

"Hey, Yuugi, don't cry, okay? It'll be alright." Mai was trying to comfort him, and after a couple of minutes, he managed to calm down, wiping his tears almost angrily with the back of his sleeve, angry with himself for revealing his broken emotions once again, and in front of all of them...

Ishizu offered him a handkerchief, and he accepted it, but didn't use it. She also knelt in front of him, putting a hand on his shoulder, and smiled sympathetically at him.

"Little Yuugi, you shouldn't cry so much." She said quietly, and he raised his eyes to look at her blue ones, looking at him softly, warmness spread over them in a comforting manner. He smiled a bit, and then Mai released him to stand by himself. He searched the room for his yami, but he couldn't see him anywhere. The others were looking at the floor, lost and confused with the whole situation.

"Maybe we should leave him alone." Serenity whispered to his brother, and he nodded hesitantly, but Tristan nodded as well, and they headed towards the doors. Joey patted him on the back before he left, and smiled at him encouragingly. Yuugi nodded slightly, and they left. Ryou was fidgeting in front of him, still in some sort of daze from the shocking information that his yami was actually _dating_ someone. He approached him, trying to find the right words, but Yuugi smiled weakly, and nodded.

"I...I really don't know what to say, Yuugi." Was all that the white haired boy could muster. 

"It's okay, you don't have to say anything, Ryou, just..." he stopped there, wanting to say something concerning Yami Bakura, but decided to be quiet. Ryou was looking at him expectantly but Yuugi shook his head, and smiled again.

"Forget it, doesn't matter." He replied, and Ryou's eyes softened; he already had a clue about what Yuugi wanted to say to him, but he only waved slightly and saying goodbye, exited the house. Ishizu threw Mai one meaningful look, and the blond duelist got the picture. She coughed and smiling at Yuugi, said goodbye, and reluctantly went after Ishizu. Yuugi could hear the comments of the dark haired Egyptian girl, whispering how she felt sorry for the little boy. He was grateful Marik wasn't here; knowing the blond brother of Ishizu, he had no doubt he'd enjoy watching him cry. 

The doors closed with a thud, leaving only one crestfallen duelist behind and his grandfather, who was holding a mug in his hand, filled with hot chocolate. He offered the mug to Yuugi, but he refused, shaking his head, and heading upstairs. There was only one person whom he had to explain what really happened. And he truly hoped that his yami would understand.

Solomon was left alone in the Game shop, looking sadly after the little boy, feeling extremely sorry for him. But he knew that he was strong enough to deal with his problems, and eyeing the hot chocolate in the mug, sighed dejectedly and took a sip.

Yami was standing in the middle of Yuugi's room, staring at the window into the night. He was looking calmly at the street outside the window, but his emotions were making a tornado inside of him, his mind clouded with confusion and anger. He just couldn't understand how Yuugi could let him get away like that...didn't he know that Bakura was dangerous? Hadn't he experienced his tricks and games on his own skin already? What was he thinking?

A sound of doors opening with a creaking sound interrupted his trail of thoughts and he turned around to observe his hikari entering, head low and eyes hidden with shadows. He closed the doors behind him, and decided to stay where he was. Yami turned his attention back to the window, crossing his hands on his chest, a classic frown evident on his face.

"Yami...you have to understand." The small voice behind him spoke, making his calm demeanor snap suddenly as he spun around, looking at his hikari angrily.

"Why?", he half – shouted, making Yuugi squirm slightly, "have you lost your mind, Yuugi?" he almost spat, glaring at him now. As much as he felt attached to the little boy, he just couldn't understand his actions sometimes. 

"Yami Bakura is a dangerous individual, have you forgotten already?" He added, turning completely to look at him.

Yuugi sighed; he expected this to happen. He raised his head, determined to make Yami understand.

"You weren't there, you haven't seen, Yami...you haven't seen the way he looked at her, the way her every word has an effect on him...I _know_ he isn't playing any tricks this time...please, trust me...trust..." he halted, noticing the sudden flicker of surprise in Yami's eyes.

He sat on the bed, looking at him with a knowing gaze; a strong gaze that held a firm belief in what he was saying. Yami chose not to loose his control, and he sat next to him, eyes directed forward, sighing deeply.

He really cared for this little boy, and for all of his friends, and at last, he realized that he was being overprotective and selfish. Carefully he let the words of his hikari sink in, and the replayed them all over again in his mind.

They are happy, she is happy, Bakura cares for her...all those words echoed in his mind, and he closed his eyes, already prepared to accept the hard blow the whole situation caused.

"And you are positively sure that he won't hurt her?" he asked him, and Yuugi nodded defiantly, any trace of doubt or apprehensiveness gone in his violet orbs. 

Yami sighed, defeated, and then nodded finally. Yuugi watched him, trying to valuate if he could accept the painful truth or he'd stand stubbornly against them.

After some rambling, the ancient Pharaoh turned his head to look at Yuugi, a small smile on his face. And although his eyes were still holding something similar to worry and doubt, he stood up, making the smaller boy stare at him in wonder.

"Then...then I will accept...their relationship," he stated firmly, but his eyes narrowed slightly then, "but if he hurts her in _any_ way, I _will_ make him pay." He added, and although the last sentence worried Yuugi slightly, he sighed in relief, smiling at Yami for making the tough, but righteous decision.

He jumped from the bed, and hugged his Yami happily.

"Thank you. Tea will be happy when she'll hear about this." He exclaimed excitedly and the next thing Yami knew, Yuugi was out of the room, and he was left with cocked eyebrows when he heard his rushed footsteps echoing down the stairs. Sighing loudly, he sat on the bed again, staring at his feet, once again questioning his decision, and hoping he had made the right one.

Tea almost cried out loud when she heard Yuugi's cheerful voice across the telephone, telling her that he managed to talk to Yami, and that he was okay with it. Bakura eyed the telephone suspiciously, lying on her couch. She winked at him, and he frowned in confusion. Then she turned her attention back to the telephone.

"Uh huh...yeah, sure! That'd be great!...Okay, see you then, bye Yuugi!"

At the mention of his name, Bakura's brows knitted unconsciously in a frown. Tea hung up, letting out a loud sigh of relief.

"What did he want?" He asked her almost gruffly, and she smiled brightly at him, almost beaming. He was confused, as it seemed, but she sat next to him on the couch, and leaning at him, giggled a bit.

"We'll all meet tomorrow at the main square!" She exclaimed excitedly, and he almost fell off the couch.

"What? No way!" He replied hastily, and Tea frowned disappointedly.

"Aw, come on! Yuugi said that Yami is okay with it, and that we should all meet at the square tomorrow...please, Bakuraaa?" She pleaded, clasping her hands together in front of him, and he was left to dwell whether to say no, and have her sad, or to say yes and make her happy, _but_ spend his day with a bunch of ignorant fools...

Her eyes shone so brightly, full of hope and he sighed, realizing that he couldn't say no in the end. She cried out happily, and hugged him; almost making them both fall off the couch.

'Great', he thought, 'another trip to hell...'

The morning passed rather quickly, and little group of kids was staring in wonder at the two people, standing in the middle of the park. The one of them was a brown haired girl, trying to drag a white haired boy with her. He was fighting back, trying to let go of her hand, but she held him firmly, and started dragging him away again.

"There's no way in hell I'll associate with that damn Pharaoh!" He yelled, but the girl was completely ignorant to his complaints.

"Well, what do you know? She actually managed to drag him with her!" Mai exclaimed enthusiastically, noticing them both approaching them. Bakura looked like he could kill the whole square with his eyes, and Tea waved happily to all of them. Serenity waved back, while Joey and Tristan sweatdropped, observing the ancient tomb robber with caution.

Yuugi smiled softly at them, seeing the way she looked happy, warmed his heart a bit. Ishizu almost chuckled, seeing how _delighted_ Bakura looked like, just by seeing them. He growled silently, wishing he had simply said no, and spared himself the trouble and humiliation. 

Tea stopped in front of her friends, saying hi, smiling cheerfully at them all. They all replied back with their own greetings. 

"Oh, and, uhm...how's it going, Bakura?" Joey asked nonchalantly, and then shrank away a bit when he noticed what Bakura gave him as a reply – a glare.

"I'm glad you could make it." Yuugi said, looking at them, and smiling softly. Bakura stood behind her with arms crossed, completely ignoring them all.

"I see Bakura isn't very happy to see _you all_, though." Someone's voice spoke behind them and they all turned around to look at the tall boy, standing in front of them, a hint of amusement evident in his voice.

"Kaiba?" Joey asked, perplexed. Mokuba peeped behind his brother, waving his hello.

Yuugi opened his mouth to ask Tea how was she doing, when someone else asked the same question instead of him. Bakura almost snarled at Yami's presence, but Tea gave him a warning look, and he only snorted.

"We're fine, Yami, thanks." She replied, her features softening at his worried expression. Bakura glared at him from behind, and Yami simply looked at him, something of a warning flickering in his eyes for a second, understandable only to Bakura, and he smirked in return.

"Hey, I brought a camera!" Serenity said, and then asked everyone to stand in front of the fountain. Kaiba muttered 'No, thank you' as politely as he could, but Mokuba was happy to jump in for him. 

"Will you take the picture then, please?" She asked him, and he eyed her for a moment, before taking the camera from her hands and nodding, as she left to stand next to her brother. Kaiba stood in front of them, observing the camera, and Tea smiled softly at her significant other, and he groaned, as she pulled him towards the small crowd of people. Kaiba sighed, slightly irritated with this nonsense when he had better things to do, but his brother already took the stance, showing the piece sign towards the camera.

Just when he was about to take the picture, a soft voice stopped him, and they all turned to look at Ryou, running down the square. He was breathing rapidly, and Bakura snorted.

"I told him not to come late...baka." he muttered, and Tea elbowed him gently for his remark. Ryou took a place next to Yuugi and Yami, and Mai yelled Kaiba to 'shoot'.

The camera made a clicking sound, and the picture was taken. Kaiba returned the camera to Serenity who thanked him with a smile, and he only muttered something incoherent.

After that, they were all seated around the fountain, Yami and Yuugi discussing about Duel Monsters, while Joey and Tristan were discussing with Ishizu about Marik's whereabouts. Serenity chatted with Mokuba, while Kaiba was glancing at the watch every now and then, wanting to get away from there as soon as possible.

Ryou joined Yuugi and Yami in Duel Monsters discussion, as the noon came very quickly.

They all decided to stay together for a while, although Kaiba got up, saying that he had a meeting to attend, and Mokuba waved at his friends, telling Serenity to stop by sometimes, which caught the attention of Joey's ears, as he glared at Kaiba, and then at his sister.

"Oh, please, Kaiba, stay for a while longer." She said, and having Mokuba looking at him pleadingly, he had no choice.

Bakura sighed inwardly, holding Tea around the waist protectively. As much as he wanted to go home and leave that bunch of weirdoes and idiot mortals, she was happy being where she was, and he decided to stay for her. She got up suddenly, and grabbed the camera from Serenity's hands. Joey and Kaiba were in the middle of a verbal sparing match, and she wanted to take a picture of them together.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the fighting duelists, and Bakura almost chuckled in amusement. Something glistened on the sun, and he averted his eyes to the Millennium Puzzle, hanging around Yuugi's neck. He was watching it intently, and the little boy noticed that, covering it with his fingers protectively and eyeing the ancient tomb robber suspiciously. Bakura only smirked, redirecting his eyes to the girl who was currently trying to talk Joey and Kaiba into taking a picture together. The CEO was definitely not delighted with the thought, but when Serenity jumped in, he and her brother had to comply.

Bakura watched the girl in front of him; the way her hair shone on the sun, and the way her cerulean orbs glistened with happiness and life. He almost smiled, seeing her smile like that.

And the Millennium Puzzle...?, he asked himself quietly.

He eyed his hikari, smiling softly at them, and then the brown haired girl, who finally managed to squeeze the two boys together while Serenity took the photo, and then smiled at him brightly.

He smirked back, leaning on the fountain, observing the crowd of people around him.

The Puzzle can wait.

The end

**AN:**

**Well, that's it! I'm done, I'm finally done with this story! *sigh***

**It wasn't supposed to have so many chapters, but what the heck! **

**Okay...*takes a deep breath***

**Thank you: dustbunny690, Liika, Kaz, Elf of Insanity, Star Moon, Starian Princess, Icegirl172, Yume Takato,  Lily of the shadow, Seto's Magician chick,  Reenas_as, Rogue solus, Godlet2b, Mystical Miyuki, Spirit of the Ring, KiLala, Eternal01, Lynderia, Rnij and Mysterious A (if I'm not wrong ^_^;), Bakuraluva, Card-Master,  Syrinx and everyone else who reviewed and I forgot to mention... You were really a great support, and I couldn't write if there wasn't for your great reviews!**

**Anyway, this is the last chapter...all in all, I hope you liked my story, and I hope you liked this chapter.**

**Till next story, (which I hope I will manage to write before Christmas O.o)**

**Bye and take care!**

**A.S.A   **


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